The Outcast Dragon King
by darkfire1220
Summary: *Sequel to, "The Rising Dragon Champions."* After the Dragon King Festival in Crocas, Fairy Tail is back on top as the peak guild in Fiore! As everyone gets back into the swing of things, evil begins to rise as ancient demons stir and Zeref's dark power becomes ever more apparent. Amidst the chaos, a defeated outcast rises up, but he may just save those he once sought to kill...
1. The Darkening Days

**I'm back! The start of the third story is finally under way! Again, this first arc is going to be 100% original, and will later merge into the canon arc that Mashima is currently writing. This story is going to be darker and scarier than the first two, but it'll still be just as good to read, I promise!**

**With that said, as always, please review and thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 1: The Darkening Days_

A young, dark-skinned girl, no older than fourteen, walked down the streets of Crocus, scanning the reconstruction. The damage was too substantial, too violent to possibly be remnants of the Grand Magic War Game she had watched. Her sharp senses could tell what had really happened- even though she hadn't been in Crocus on July 7th, suspicion had brought her to the city. Whispers across the country had spoken- mostly in a joking tone- that the damage had been caused by seven rampaging dragons. But she didn't treat it like a joke. She knew all too well that dragons were real, and as the wind picked up, she detected the faintest scent, one that made her shiver and gasp.

The unmistakeable scent of dragons.

_The world, or at least, the majority of it, must be unaware of what really happened, _the girl realized._ Someone's trying to hide the truth…_

It was understandable, sure, but was it right? To hide the fact that dragons had once again appeared and ravaged the land? The people had no idea what cataclysm had nearly occurred.

"Did you find anything?"

The girl glanced over her shoulder, where a light brown cat with white wings hovered. It gazed at her curiously with wide, heather blue eyes.

She smiled, "Yes, Millie. I can smell them…the scent's old, probably two weeks or so, but it's there…At last, we finally found out that dragons are still here…" She glanced at the sky, silent as the wind blew her long, light pink hair out. The dark gray eyes were focused on something in the distance, as if she could see the dragon who had raised her.

Millie patted her shoulder and offered a big smile, "It's okay, Savannah. We'll find your mom, for sure! If other dragons came here, then maybe she'll come back too!"

Savannah frowned, "Something bothers me though…the dragons that appeared here weren't friendly. I can smell blood in the air, too. It's faint, but unmistakable…This wasn't just an appearance of dragons. This was a battle of dragons and people…But I don't know how or why it happened…"

The exceed blinked, "Well, what about the other Dragon Slayers? They were here, maybe they fought the dragons! We should go ask them!"

The girl chewed her lip thoughtfully, "I want to look around a bit more first. Let's see if there are any other secrets to find in this city. Then we'll go find the other Dragon Slayers in Fairy Tail, okay?"

Millie nodded, "Okay! Follow me!"

The exceed flew ahead, and Savannah couldn't help but smile. _Headstrong as always, I see…_

**/\/\/\/\/\**

In the frozen, northern continent, deep in the forbidding mountains, a great creature slumbered, it's slow, deep breaths shaking the cave. Time passed ceaselessly for it, the hibernation never ending.

Then it felt the change. It was slight, but unmistakeable. Somewhere in the world, a great battle had taken place. The shift made the creature stir from its 17 year coma, releasing a mighty breath from huge jaws.

When it stood, ice that had found its way onto the body of the monster cracked and fell off in chunks the size of houses. The beast took a step, then another, walking until it reached the mouth of a cave it had not seen since it had begun sleeping.

**_"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"_**

A massive, almighty bellow ripped from its jaws, shaking the air and earth. On the cliffs around it, avalanches started tearing down the mountainsides, burying anything and everything in their paths. The beast grunted and stomped through the snow, heading south to where it knew there would be liquid water.

It was time to move again.

**/\/\/\/\/\**

In a forest not far from Crocus, a stream ran quietly through the earth- but its once clear waters ran now with tinges of scarlet blood which came from the banks, as though something with terrible wounds had come down, desperate to drink, and fallen in.

Further downstream, the water connected to a larger river, and then to a great waterfall that tumbled over the side of a cliff, filling a pool with crystal clear water. Water which was now stained red.

A man floated on the surface, half-dead and unconscious from his wounds. For what seemed like forever, he remained comatose, but perhaps in a reflection of a powerful spirit which defied death, he awoke for a brief few moments to stare up at the night sky.

Then it all faded to black once more.

**/**

In the darkness of that same night, but in a city much farther away, a teenager ran on the rooftops with silent, black figures pursuing him. He kept glancing over his shoulder, frowning when he noticed they were catching up. The boy leaped from one building to another, hoping to lose his trackers with the jump, but these hunters were as agile and skilled as he was.

_At running and jumping, anyway, _he thought. The boy paused as he noticed some of the trackers coming from either side, so he picked up the speed and made for the highest building in the city, which was a traditional, feudal tower of japanese style. Maybe he could at least get the height advantage before a fight started.

Getting to the top was easy, but the moment he turned around to wait for his pursuers, a sword point touched the bare skin of his throat.

He held his hands up slowly, rolling his eyes as the other hunters also landed on the rooftop just moments behind their leader.

The man removed a black mask which caused him resemble a ninja, but underneath, the seriousness of his face and the dark eyes still made the figure look like a warrior. At a flick of his hand, the other hunters pointed blades at him, each of different styles and makes. Katanas, broadswords, rapiers, one guy even had a hatchet.

The leader glared at the teenager and spoke with a deep voice, "Did you really think you could escape after getting so close to our base? You are not one of our spies. You are one of the men that rich fool hired to guard him, are you not?"

"Rich fool that just so happens to be cracking down on crime in this city." the teenager shot back, then muttered, "But I guess even officials like him need protection now and then. Especially from bandits who terrorize people and say they're from a noble line of warriors. Please, even Gajeel's ass is more noble than yours."

"Not that it will do him any good." the leader snapped, anger flaring in his eyes at the scorn. His anger turned smug, "Especially not now that you've led us straight to his hideaway. I suspected he'd choose a place with a good vantage point over the city. In a battle, the high ground is always better. That's what you thought too, isn't it, Dragon Slayer?"

At the teen's raised eyebrow, the man snorted, "I know who you are. Virtually every face in the underground is familiar with you. One of the mighty Dragon Slayers who brought Fairy Tail back to the top no more than two weeks ago. But you have a weakness the others do not…no sword. How do you expect to fight blades with your bare hands?"

The teenager sighed, "Buddy, take it from me, you really don't want to know the answer to that. And you should probably turn around."

The man smirked, "Do not think you can fool me with trickery."

But the teen shrugged, "Okay. Blindness it is."

His body suddenly lit up like a small sun, making the bandits howl in pain as the searing white light burned their eyes. Only the leader was quick enough to cover his face and quickly step back, and once the light died down he glared furiously at the teenager, "I only need one blade to kill you anyway- gupu!"

He was silenced as a swift blaze of fire came down and smashed his head into the roof, effectively knocking him out.

A spiky-haired, dark eyed teen stood up off the leaders unconscious body and frowned at the other boy, "Sting, I thought Erza told you to do recon."

Sting rolled his eyes, "She wants _me _to spy on _ninjas? _Natsu, you can't spy on a ninja. It just doesn't work."

"Good point…hm?" Natsu stopped and glanced around as the significant number of other bandits recovered from the blinding pain and gave the twins murderous glares. The leader was still out, but they didn't need a command to attack these two.

Sting rolled his eyes, "Erza's gonna kill us."

"Probably." Natsu admitted.

The bandits lunged with screams of anger, all trying to stab at the twins at the same time, but the screams went from anger to pain as an explosion of heat and light blasted them off of the rooftop and into the night sky above the city.

Those who recovered tried to attack the brothers again, but now the twins fought back to back in a perfect sync that could only be performed by years of practice. Their fists struck with incredible speed, red and white blurs that rendered another enemy defeated with every strike.

One of the bandits stood on a rooftop a short distance away, and now he fired arrows at the Twin Dragons. His allies were retreating to him, hoping for some form of long-distance protection.

Natsu glared at the archer from the corner of his eye and muttered, "Breath."

"Yeah." Sting growled, flashed bright white again to stun their enemies, then sucked in air alongside Natsu.

"Fire Dragon's…"

"White Dragon's…"

**"Roar!" **The twins shouted in unison and unleashed a laser burst that was surrounded by twisting fire.

The bandit had just enough time to widen his eyes and whimper, "Oh, shit…"

An explosion ripped through the night as the combined breath devastated the building and remaining bandits. All that remained was a pile of wreckage and a number of unconscious or groaning bodies.

"Wow, you guys sure made a mess."

The twins glanced up as Happy and Lector flew down with shakes of their heads.

Lector sighed, "Glad its just us and Erza. If we brought everyone else, there wouldn't be any reward at all."

"Aye! Bufufufu!" Happy giggled.

Natsu scratched his head, "Well, that wasn't so bad. At least it was just one building this time."

"And the bandits are all gone." Sting agreed, then glanced with slight fear at his twin, "Erza can't kill us for this, can she?"

The Salamander shrugged, "I don't know. Do I look like Erza?"

As if on cue, an angry shout from below made the brothers jump, "STING! NATSU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE?!"

Natsu called down, "The bandits are gone! We beat them all!"

"YOU DESTROYED A THREE HUNDRED YEAR-OLD SHRINE, YOU IDIOTS!" Erza roared.

The White Dragon groaned, "Oh, of course we did. The building we blew up just had to be an ancient, super important shrine. I swear, we're the most unlucky bastards in the whole frickin' world."

"I dare you to tell Lucy that." Lector remarked.

Sting pointed at him, "You, sir, make an excellent point."

The exceed grinned, "Of course I do."

"GET DOWN HERE!"

The twins rolled their eyes and called back together, "Yes, Erza!"

Happy snickered, "You guys are screeeeewed!"

**/\/\/\/\/\**

"Do you two realize the damage you've caused?!"

Their client, a bald, middle-aged man was pacing back and forth as he glared at the brothers who were being restrained by Erza as he chewed them out. The twins looked more bored than intimidated, but the man kept going on.

"This is why I requested just Erza! Your Master assured me she was the mage to go to for precision!" the man snapped.

"Erza doesn't have a nose that can hunt better than a bloodhound, sir." Sting pointed out, "And the bandits are all in jail. Doesn't that make things a little better?"

The man sighed and ground out, "As helpful as your actions were, the sheer destructiveness of them almost completely contradicts it! That shrine was a historical landmark! Did you have to destroy it to defeat the bandits?!"

"Are you serious?" Natsu muttered, "You're upset about _how _we did you a favor?"

"It was made of wood, can't you just rebuild it anyway?" Sting asked.

**"Be quiet!"** Erza smacked them in the back of the head, stunning the Twin Dragons into silence.

Their client grunted, "I would put you both under arrest, but seeing as the cells are all full, I'll let you go."

Erza nodded, "Thank you sir. Again, I'm very sorry for what these two have done. I'll see to it they are properly punished at home." Her menacing glare made the Twin Dragons cringe in fear.

Even the client seemed a little sympathetic to that, so he waved a hand, "Just keep them alive so they have to live with what they've done."

"Oh, they'll live." Erza said darkly, "But their punishment will be the most unpleasant torture I can possibly think of."

Sting and Natsu exchanged terrified looks, then looked up at their client with pleading expressions.

"We're very sorry!"

"Please throw us in jail!"

Erza started to drag them away, muttering to herself, "You two will suffer like never before."

Lector shook his head as he followed them out, "They've really done it this time."

"Aye!" Happy chuckled.

"So, what do you think Erza's gonna do to them?" Lector asked.

Happy grinned evilly, "Hmm…"


	2. New Missions

**Yeah, second chapter! This is more development, but we'll get into the more serious stuff pretty soon- have no doubt about that. Anyway, I don't usually stress this very much, but please guys: REVIEW! It's your reviews that keep me writing! Without those, what's the point? Tell me your opinion, love it, hate it, flame it, be my guest and let me know! I'm doing this for YOUR entertainment, so help me out a little to make this story even better for EVERYONE! **

**As always, thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 2: New Missions_

"Ah-ahhhh! Pl-please- oh, god- M-ma-ahaha! Ahahaa! No! N-not there! Bahahahaha! Make it sto- hahahahahaha!"

"E-Erza, I- ahahaha! I-I-I'm s-sorry- bufaahahahaa! Hahaha! Please! N-no mo~re- gahahaha!"

The guild watched with a mixture of horror and hysterics at Erza's choice of punishment for the rowdy Twin Dragons.

She had tied them up, hung them from the rafters, took off their clothes down to their underwear, and was now tickling them in every place possible with feathers. Of course, Happy, Lector, and Frosch were helping. The Twin Dragons were laughing so hard they cried, and the ropes Erza had tied them up with suppressed their magic. They were utterly helpless.

A short distance away, Lucy was sitting at a table, half-enjoying her boyfriend's horrific torture. Half because even though she wanted to help him, the sight of Sting tied up, stripped, and laughing so hard he couldn't breathe was surprisingly entertaining. In fact, her hand was hiding a huge grin on her face, but the wracking of her shoulders gave away the fact that she was laughing.

"Wow, they really did it this time. That's so mean." Levy giggled beside her, but Gajeel was in total hysterics. Black Steel was down for the count, curled up in a ball on floor while he laughed his ass off.

Lisanna was laughing too, but she finally managed to put a hold on herself and sigh, "Whew…do you think we should stop Erza? She's been at it for like half an hour…I'm amazed they're still conscious."

Yukino flashed her a look like she was crazy, "You can go tell her that if you want. I'm not ending up in the same boat as those two."

Elfman grunted, "It's not manly to watch your friends suffer!"

Unfortunately, Erza heard him.

**/\/\/\/\/\**

"AAAHHH, GOD! GAHAHAHAHA, PLEASE-BAHA! N-NO MORE, I'M BEGGING YOU! AHAHAHAHA!"

Elfman, within two minutes of talking back, was tied up, stripped, and hung with the Twin Dragons, then subjected to the same, horrible torture. With a slight twist: He was upside down, hanging from his feet.

Now the whole room was in danger of dying. Sting and Natsu were one thing, but Elfman, a huge, tough guy being strung up and tickled with feathers? It was too much for the already crazed guild to take.

Cana wasn't even able to get drunk because she couldn't swallow her alcohol. It was hard to tell if she was crying from laughter or frustration. The attempts to swear in between heaving laughs were almost indecipherable, "G-god- hahhaha- dammit! Y-you stupid-pffahahaha! Shit, stop it! I can't- pufu! I-I can't drink-kahahaha! Aw, shit, Erza, stoppit already! Bufahahaha!"

At that precise moment, Laxus walked through the guild entrance.

The tall blonde man took about three seconds to process the scene before him; Sting, Natsu, and Elfman stripped and strung up, everyone laughing their asses off, and not a single sane soul or quiet place in sight.

When some people tried to explain, he held up a hand and shook his head, "I don't even wanna know, I'll just call it a night early, you crazy bastards."

The mages couldn't even _breathe_ anymore. Even Erza and the exceed had stopped tickling their victims because they were no longer able to laugh and remain standing at the same time. Pretty much everyone in the room was down for the count.

Erza finally got up and caught her breath, then whipped out a sword and cut the three prisoners loose, chuckling as they hit the ground with a thud, "I think you three have learned your lesson, right?"

Sting and Natsu weren't able to reply, as they were too exhausted to even attempt putting their clothes back on. Elfman had passed out in the last few seconds of torture and was drooling on the floor.

Titania nodded with a large grin, "Good." Then she walked off.

When she had gone, Natsu managed a groan, "She's…so…mean…"

Sting tried to grunt, "That…was…hell…"

"Yeah, it was. But you two were laughing so hard, I almost thought you liked it."

The twins looked up to see Lucy and Lisanna crouching over them, still giggling at their pathetic appearance.

Sting wasn't gonna have any of it.

"Next time…we'll do that to..to you…tie you…the bed…tickle…til' ya beg…" he gasped out.

Lucy arched an eyebrow, "We can always make Erza torture you again."

Natsu shook his head, "P-please…god no…never again…"

Lisanna tried not to smile, but she gave up and gathered the twin's clothes for them, "Better put those back on."

"Wha' bout me?" Elfman slurred, waking up on the floor.

Lucy grinned and pointed, "Evergreen has yours. Sorry, Elfman, but I don't think you'll be getting them back."

Elfman groaned and promptly passed out again.

Lisanna giggled, "Alright, let's get you guys home, 'kay?"

**/\/\/\/\/\**

In Crocas, Savannah was still trying to find out more about the dragon raid she knew had happened, but so far, there were no more clues. It was as though the dragons had attacked, then vanished like smoke.

She finally scored a hit when they reached the front of the castle.

"What is it?" Millie asked curiously, seeing her friend pause mid-step.

Savannah was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "I can feel magic similar to a Dragon Slayer's…but it's also like a dragon's…it's weird."

The brown exceed tilted her head, "Well, maybe a dragon ate a Dragon Slayer! Or a Dragon Slayer ate a dragon!"

The girl laughed at her companion's idea, but shook her head, "No, I don't think so…Tell you what, there's a faint trail here, so let's follow it and see what we can find. We've got a new mission, Millie!"

"Yay!" Millie cheered, making Savannah smile. Even when things were rough, she always had her friend at her side. That was what kept her going.

"Come on, Millie." Savannah said, "Let's go find our missing dragon."

**/\/\/\/\/\**

Sting awoke to the familiar sensation of something warm and soft draped over his body- or rather, some_one. _He smiled at Lucy's sleeping form, watching her back rise and fall with her breathing. She was lying on his chest, which was the way they typically slept these days.

The initial awkwardness of their relationship was long gone. Their Dragon's Bond had only strengthened in the few months it had existed, but it already felt too strong for anything to break.

He kissed the top of Lucy's head, which resulted in her smiling, then opening her eyes blearily. She leaned up slightly to meet his lips, then mumbled tiredly, "Morning…"

"Yeah…" Sting brought up a hand and ran his fingers through her long, blonde hair. Lucy snuggled closer to him, sighing contentedly at his caresses. He eventually shifted her so he could get up, then stretched with a grunt.

Lucy opened one eye and muttered, "Where are you going?"

He shrugged, "Guess I might as well go find us a job to do…how about you crash for a few more hours and I'll come back with some work?"

"Nope." Lucy sat up and yawned, then winked at him, "I already made plans with Levy. She's doing a job at some ruins and invited me. Wanna come with us?"

Sting grinned, "You bet I do."

"Good. So get back here, mister. It's only eight in the morning." she complained, "Even Lector isn't awake yet."

Sting rolled his eyes, but cracked a smile and got back in bed, allowing the pretty blonde to use his chest once more as a pillow.

**/\/\/\/\/\**

A few hours later, when Sting, Lucy, and Lector finally got out and headed to the guild, they found a large group of people huddling around the Master at the bar.

Lucy blinked, "What's going on there?"

"Who knows?" Sting muttered, then went over and tapped Rogue's shoulder, "What's this about?"

The Shadow Dragon shrugged, "Master got a bunch of job requests this morning asking for specific mages. He's passing them out now."

Lucy eyed the pile of requests and whistled, "Wow, that's a lot."

"You can say that again." Yukino remarked from beside Rogue, "I saw a dozen requests specifically asking for Erza. She's going to be super busy for a while…"

Lector turned his stare of surprise from Yukino to Rogue, "What about you?"

Rogue held up a request in his hand with a sigh, "I have to go investigate some shady characters who apparently are playing with forbidden magic. Should be interesting, at least."

"Nice. Is Gajeel going with you?" Sting asked.

Yukino shook her head, "No, he's going with Levy to a different job."

The White Dragon processed that and glanced at Lucy with a raised eyebrow, "Now that wouldn't happen to be the same job we're going on, would it?"

Lucy chuckled, "Guilty. Come on, it'll be fun. We're just looking at some ruins."

"Yeah, that's how it always starts." Lector pointed out, "Then later there's fighting and explosions and Erza gets pissed off."

Sting grinned, "True that. Well, let's find our team and get moving, okay?"

"Okay. See you guys later!" Lucy waved goodbye to Rogue and Yukino as they went looking for Levy and Gajeel.

Well, they were about to when Makarov guffawed, "Well, here's a surprise! Mira, there's one here for you!"

Mira called back, "Master, I'm too busy here. I can't go on a job right now."

"Oh, I know." the old man responded, then jabbed his finger at a pile of letters that rivaled Erza's, "Those are the requests I put down because I knew you wouldn't have any interest in them. This one is different."

The barmaid watched him carefully, "How so?"

Makarov handed her the letter and grinned as she read it over, then widened her eyes, _"What?!"_

"Don't tell me that doesn't interest you." Makarov grunted, "That job is up in the northern continent, but it shouldn't be a problem for you. And I _know _the prize is worth it."

"A-a-a vacation house right by Akane Resort?! Seriously?!" Mira almost drooled.

"EHHHH?!" The whole female population in the guild gasped. Not only was Akane Resort extremely popular, but getting a place right by it was ridiculously expensive. To the girls though, that wasn't what made it so appealing.

Just the idea of having your own private getaway in a tropical location was amazing to anyone, but of course, one thing always clicking in the back of every female mind was _romance. _The ideal situation for a girl would be to have a perfect getaway for them and their significant other.

The reward of this job was simply too good to pass up.

"Lisanna, Elfman, we have to go pack!" Mira called as she rushed out of the guild.

Lucy stared after her, then glanced back at Sting, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone in a dress move that fast."

"Hey, it's a hell of a reward." Sting pointed out, "Did she even look at the job though?"

Makarov grunted, "It's just to investigate some monster activity in the northern region. Nothing too special. That area has been fairly uneventful for quite some time now. It should be an easy job."

"I don't envy them."

That was Gajeel as he and Natsu came up to them with Levy right behind. Black Steel grunted again, "That's gonna be freakishly cold. I ain't unhappy to be left out on this little excursion."

"Well, I'm going with them." Natsu decided, "Just like old times."

Sting blinked, "You do remember what happened the last time you went monster hunting with them, right?"

Natsu visibly winced, but he growled, "I'm stronger now. I can manage. And Reyos ain't here to send me to Edolas this time. We'll be fine."

"Of course we will." Lisanna came up behind Natsu and grabbed his hand with a smile, "So let's hurry and go pack, or Mira will leave us behind!"

The Salamander grinned, "You got it! Happy, let's go!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered and flew ahead as Natsu and Lisanna ran behind him out of the guild.

Makarov grunted, "They'll do just fine. Natsu will probably melt all the snow up north. I hope we can't get fined for that. Let's see…Gray! There's a job for you, Erza, and Juvia!"

While the Master went back to giving out job requests, Sting and Lucy discussed their mission with Levy and Gajeel, though Black Steel just stood there with his arms crossed.

"Okay, so we're heading to some ruins in the east." Levy told them, "There's some ancient text we need to decipher. Supposedly, it grants access to a secret chamber that's full of treasure!"

Lucy smiled brightly, "That could be a great scenario to add to my novel!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sting asked, then motioned to Lector and Pantherlily on the other side of the room. The group headed out of the guild for their job immediately.

**/**

"Elfman, have you packed enough warm clothes?" Mira called from her room.

"A man doesn't need to fear the cold!" was the brave (however typical) reply.

"Mira, you'll let us use that vacation house, right?" Lisanna asked.

Mira poked her head out of her room and arched an eyebrow at her little sister mischievously, "And whatever would you need that for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lisanna stuck her tongue out and giggled.

Natsu grinned, "Well, at least you won't be cold on this trip. Not while I'm around."

"You liiiiiike her!" Happy said with glee.

The Salamander sweat dropped, "Isn't that obvious by now?"

Lisanna bit her lip for a second, then gave Natsu a look. A look that said she wanted to talk in private.

"Hey, Happy, head home and make sure you packed enough fish, okay?" Natsu said.

The blue exceed shot out of the house instantly, allowing Lisanna to close her bedroom door and lock it so no one could interrupt them.

Natsu stared at her, "What's up?"

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." she told him quietly.

Natsu was taken aback, "Excuse me?"

Lisanna shifted uneasily, "It's just…the last time we went on a job like this, I almost lost you…I don't want to go through something like that ever again. I know it wasn't easy on you either, so if it makes you too uncomfortable, you don't have to come with us. It's an easy job and-"

She was silenced as he leaned down and kissed her, then pulled back slightly with a faint smile, "You know the last time we went on a job like this, good things came out of it too, right?"

Her reply was a slight whisper, "Yes…"

"So don't worry." Natsu brought her close and held the girl to him, murmuring into her hair, "We're smarter and stronger now. We won't make the same mistakes this time. It's just an investigation anyway, isn't it? How bad could it be?"

Lisanna tried to hide a smile and hugged him, "Don't jinx us, Natsu. You got in enough trouble on the last mission."

Natsu shuddered, "Don't remind me. I knew Erza could be mean but that was just…"

"Oh, it was hysterical!"

The Salamander pouted, "Don't laugh when I get tortured!"

She tried to hide her smile, but it was futile. Lisanna put a hand over her mouth, but a giggle escaped her lips.

Natsu grinned fiendishly and lunged at her, "All right, let's see how you like it!"

He grabbed her and started tickling her stomach, making the girl double over as she started laughing, "Ahaha! N-Natsu, quit! Th-that's where I'm- hahahaha!"

"You asked for it!" he laughed, catching her as she almost fell and continued to tickle her.

Lisanna took a quick breath, then spun and countered by tickling him back, "Okay, mister, let's see if you can handle this!"

Natsu staggered as she found the spot on his neck where he was most ticklish, but grunted in surprise when he stumbled and fell back into Lisanna's bed. The girl landed on top of him, still trying to tickle his neck and laughing all the while.

A knock on the door interrupted their play fighting, "Oi, Lisanna? What's going on in there?"

Lisanna recovered herself and called back, "It's nothing, Elfman! Happy's just giving us the runaround!"

Elfman seemed to consider this, but Lisanna kept going, "It's fine Elfman! We've only got like three minutes anyway, so nothing's gonna happen!"

Her brother grunted and apparently walked away, leaving the two in peace.

Lisanna sighed and looked down on Natsu with a smile, "Might as well enjoy these three minutes. Elfman will probably watch us like a hawk for the rest of the trip."

"Tch. He can't argue if I'm keeping you warm." Natsu grinned and winked.

She laughed again and lay her head down on Natsu's chest, taking a moment to listen to the familiar, strong heartbeat. Lisanna closed her eyes and murmured, "Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"I love you." Lisanna propped herself up and looked him in the eye, "You know that, right?"

Natsu frowned, "Of course I do. Why ask me that?"

"Just making sure." she answered.

"...You're not telling me this on the off chance something happens on this mission, are you?"

Lisanna sighed and tapped his chest with a finger, "Guilty…"

Natsu pulled her down and kissed her again, the contact soft and gentle. When they pulled apart, Natsu brought up a hand and brushed a strand of hair out of Lisanna's face. His eyes were serious, "It'll be fine. You trust me, right?"

"With my life." was her unwavering reply.

"Then don't worry." he flashed his classic grin and pulled her down for a hug. Lisanna seemed to relax a bit and settled down with him- up until they heard a familiar, obnoxious snicker:

"You guys are in looooove!"

"Happy!"


	3. Surprises, Good and Bad

**It's a rainy day...which means its the perfect time for more writing! If you have questions or suggestions for the story, then you better put em up while the chapters are still just single digits. I don't have much else to say other than the usual:**

**As always, PLEASE review and THANKS for reading!**

_Chapter 3: Surprises, Good and Bad_

"Ugh…I hate trains…" Natsu groaned, then clapped his hands over his mouth as another wave of nausea swept over him.

They'd been riding the train for hours to get up to the northern continent. While it was fun watching the landscape go from green forests to snowy fields, a certain Dragon Slayer was entirely incapable of enjoying the view. The only positive thing about his situation was that his head was lying in Lisanna's lap. That made it a little better.

Just a little.

Mira smiled apologetically, "Sorry about this. Walking to our clients would take weeks. It's just too far to not take transportation."

Natsu grunted, then moaned as the train shuddered on the railing, probably from ice, "Someone…knock me out…I'm begging you-urk!"

Lisanna ran her fingers through his spiky hair, shaking her head with a smile, "We would if Erza were here. Sorry, Natsu."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Elfman muttered, "A man shouldn't let the train make him sick!"

Mira giggled, "I don't think it's that simple, Elfman. Dragon Slayers get motion sickness naturally."

The big man grunted, "Why do Dragon Slayers get like that, anyway? No one's ever told me why."

Happy shrugged, "Dunno. They just do."

Mira glanced up at her little sister, "Has Natsu ever told you why?"

"To be honest, I don't think he knows." Lisanna remarked, "If he did, maybe we could do something about it."

"I'm still here y'know…ugh…" Natsu choked out.

The train finally came to a stop, instantly reviving the Salamander, "IT'S OVER!"

Happy cheered, "Aye, sir!"

Natsu got up, but he was still recovering from the long hours of motion sickness, so he stumbled and accidentally bumped into a tall man with a grunt, "Sorry!"

"Dang, kid, can't you see I feel miserable here…?"

Natsu stopped dead and looked up at the man, who looked back with a frown. For a brief moment, the two just stared at each other.

"LAXUS?!"

Laxus winced at the yell of shock and growled back, "Oi, oi, easy on my poor ears. I went through hours of hell already…"

"What are you doing on this train?" Elfman asked with surprise.

The Lightning Dragon shrugged, "It was getting too damn hot down south, so I decided to come up here and cool off a bit."

Lisanna arched an eyebrow, "So, you just _happened _to board the same train as us, even though trains give you motion sickness?"

Laxus shot a look back at her, "What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that you followed us here." she said easily.

Laxus snorted, "Yeah, right. Why would I follow you guys?"

"Why get on transportation that makes you sick?" Lisanna shot back, "You didn't even bring the Thunder God Tribe with you."

Laxus chewed on his lip, clearly trying to think of some way to get out of his sticky situation, but Lisanna had yet to be beaten in an argument, and that streak wasn't about to end today. She led Natsu and the others past the Lightning Dragon with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Mira waited for them to walk off a bit before looking up at Laxus with a smile, "You know, you could have just asked to come with us."

He shrugged, "I wasn't interested in the job. Like I said, I wanted to cool off, and you guys just so happened to be going in the same direction. I figured I'd tag along for a bit."

Mira giggled, "Has anyone ever told you you're a terrible liar?"

"Someone has now." Laxus smirked in response.

She laughed, then walked off the train with the Lightning Dragon in tow.

**/\/\/\/\/\**

Close to Crocas, Savannah and Millie had followed the faint trail of dragon scent from the city to the nearby woods, where they were still tracking down the source. They were getting closer- the scent had gotten considerably stronger as they trekked deeper into the forest.

They finally came to a small creek, but the trail stopped there.

Savannah frowned, "Millie, fly downstream and see if you can find anything. I'll check around here a bit more."

The brown exceed nodded and flew off, leaving the young Dragon Slayer to investigate the end of the scent trail. Savannah had only been searching for five minutes though, when Millie flew back.

"Come see this!" the exceed urged, picking up her friend and carrying her further down the stream.

What had caught Millie's attention was a faint, red smear on some stones by the bank. Savannah didn't even need to get close before she caught the metallic tang of blood.

She wrinkled her nose distastefully, "That smells like the dragon or Dragon Slayer we've been following…so they must have been swept downstream and tried to get out here. Doesn't look like they got out, though..."

"Maybe they went further along!" Millie exclaimed, then flew them alongside the stream, which merged to a large river. They looked to the riverbanks for any sign of their quarry, but saw nothing until they reached the waterfall a quarter mile later.

The waterfall dropped into a deep, clear pool of water, but what they saw floating in the center of the lake made them freeze.

A man was suspended on the surface, eyes closed and face pale. The water around him was a faint red from injuries they couldn't see, but were obviously there.

Millie gulped, "Is he…dead?"

"I-I'm not sure…" Savannah whispered, "But we should get him out anyways. If he's dead, he should be buried. If he's alive, we have to save him somehow."

Millie flew them down to hover over the pool, where Savannah reached down and grabbed the lifeless form, then gently tugged him to the shore.

Savannah opened up her backpack and pulled out a first-aid kit, knowing she would need one when she saw red start to trickle around the man's body. She pulled out a hunting knife and cut the man's soaked and tattered t-shirt from his body with a grunt, "Right, let's see what we've got."

The moment that shirt was clear, the two friends stared in shock. The mystery man's ribs were broken terribly, and one of them was actually punching through the skin. It looked like his wrist was also damaged, possibly from an attempt to pull himself from the river, and there were cuts all over him from the sharp river stones…the list went on and on as they looked him over.

Millie was horrified, "Just what happened to him?! Did a dragon do this?!"

"It's not impossible…" Savannah gulped, and reached out to touch the man's neck, searching for a pulse she doubted was there.

But to her astonishment, the faintest of heartbeats met her finger in a weak, almost nonexistent pulse.

"He's alive…" she whispered.

Millie gaped at her, "Are you serious?! How?! How is he alive?!"

"That doesn't matter…" Savannah replied, already knowing what had to be done. "Millie, get a fire going and soak a few rags in my pack with warm water. I've got to find herbs. He needs medicine right now."

Millie didn't argue with her friend. Even though she'd helped to treat people before, the brown exceed had never done something as serious as this. She doubted they'd actually revive the mostly dead man, but Millie would help Savannah anyways.

**/**

Savannah ran through the woods for all she was worth, sniffing madly for the herbs she would need. It took her nearly half an hour to find some, but she dared not spend any more time until the man was safer from dying.

Safer, not safe. Even she wasn't sure wounds like his were recoverable.

She didn't stop rushing even when she got back, where Millie had already started treating the less serious wounds. The major injuries would require Savannah's attention.

Savannah quickly got to work, grinding the herbs to a paste which she spread over the terrible wounds. Once she had treated every external injury in sight, the girl sat on her knees and set her hands on the man's chest carefully.

Millie stared, familiar with the position her friend had taken, "Can you heal something like this?"

Savannah frowned, "I'm not sure."

"Don't hurt yourself." Millie said worriedly, "If you use up too much of your magic, you won't help him at all. He's probably already beyond help, Savannah."

"I have to try." the girl said determinedly, then closed her eyes and murmured softly, _"Grass Song…"_

As she said this, the grass around them trembled and grew longer, seeming to gain a mind of its own.

Then Savannah began to sing.

It was soft and soothing, a gentle humming that made the air and earth come alive. The wind blew calmly, as if moved by the sound. The plants trembled in response, appearing to enjoy the song she sang.

The grass moved towards the man to his wounds, then began to slowly stitch up the injuries in his chest. His ribs required more attention, forcing Savannah to increase the tempo of her humming song so the grass could shift them back into place and bind the man's broken bones.

It took ten minutes of nonstop humming, but at last, the most serious wounds were dealt with, closed off with no more bleeding.

Savannah stopped singing and gasped, panting from the loss of magic and oxygen.

Millie gave her water from a canteen to quench the girl's parched throat, frowning when she saw her partner gulp the liquid down greedily, "You didn't have to go that far. Look at yourself!"

Indeed, Savannah was trembling and exhausted, but she was more than satisfied with her work. The man seemed to have regained a little color in his face.

She sighed in relief, "That's all I can do…It's up to him, now…"

"Will he make it?" Millie asked.

Savannah shook her head, "I don't know. Until he wakes up…I just don't know…"

**/\/\/\/\/\**

Lucy and Levy's group had finally reached the ruins where their job was to be, and at the moment, they were meeting up with the archaeologists who had hired them.

"So as you can see, these ruins utilize an ancient scripture that we cannot decipher. It has perplexed our greatest minds, and we have had many headaches trying to decode it. Do you think you can help us with this?" the head archaeologist asked.

Lucy nodded, "Sure! Levy's the best with ancient writing! Between the two of us, we can decipher your mystery language without a problem!"

Gajeel snorted, "So, why did we come?"

The head man cleared his throat, "Well, one problem about this site is that the inner ruins we are trying to get into are guarded by…a significant number of monsters."

Sting frowned, "Then how did you get in there?"

"We didn't. We sent a lacrima camera in. And we didn't even get it back. It only took a picture of the ancient writing before one of the monsters caught on and destroyed it.

"That's more my department." Gajeel grinned fiendishly, "So, while you two bookworms deal with that language mumbo jumbo, blondie and I'll go kick some ass."

The two Dragon Slayers walked out of the camp to the ruins with maniacal grins on their faces.

Lucy frowned, then called after them, "Don't blow up the ruins!"

"They can't." the archaeologist remarked, "The gateway we're trying to open is made entirely of an ancient form of Maginium. It's old, yes, but no magic tools have been able to even scratch it."

"Well, that's a relief." Levy remarked, then put on her Gale Force reading glasses, "So, let's get to work on these scriptures…"

**/**

Sting and Gajeel walked deeper into the ruins without the slightest trace of fear. In fact, they were anticipating the oncoming battle, but that was just their nature.

"So, what's with you and Levy?" Sting asked.

Gajeel muttered, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The White Dragon smirked, "You suck at lying. Seriously, are you gonna make a move, or what?"

"What I do ain't any of your business. So plug yourself in, you damn flashlight. I can't see shit in here." Gajeel growled.

Sting laughed, choosing to ignore the insult as he activated his White Drive and lit up the dark ruins.

Instantly, monsters became visible, screeching angrily at the aggravating light. Most were giant bugs, large spiders and scorpions, but a massive sphinx, curled up in front of the locked gates got up and roared, declaring itself to be the most dangerous threat.

Gajeel grinned darkly, "Ho…Now _this _is more like it…"

"I second that." Sting chuckled, his reptilian orbs gaining a predatory light, "Looks like we've got a bug infestation. Let's step on 'em."

The monsters chittered and screeched, charging the Dragon Slayers as one, but not taking a moment to realize the expression on their faces were not those of fear.

**/**

"…So, it looks like the reason you can't decipher these runes is because they're actually a hybridized form of two or even three separate languages…" Levy deduced, then shook her head in amazement, "These are actually really complex, even for me. It'll take a while to figure out what it all means. Maybe a few days, or even a week."

Lucy stared in surprise, "Even with the Gale Force Glasses? Wow, those ancient people really went to extremes in order to hide their treasure, huh?"

"I don't get it…" Levy crossed her arms and pouted, "Even though these runes are similar to those of ancient cultures that were mixed together, there are some that don't resemble any known literature. Like this."

She pointed at a rune that resembled an upside down wing, and right beside that was a burning fang.

Lucy chewed her lip thoughtfully, "I've never seen anything like that. How about we decipher what we can, then see what we can make of it."

"Okay." Levy sighed, returning to her work.

**BOOM!**

The girls squeaked and spun around to stare at the ruins, which had a significant amount of dust and loud, unpleasant noises emanating from the entrance. Over the din, they heard a familiar, nearly psychotic laughter:

"GEEHEEHEE!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Men."

"Tell me about it." Levy smiled mischievously.

The girls kept doing their work, while the archaeology crew did their best to ignore the sounds of crazed Dragon Slayers and monsters in pain coming from the ruins.


	4. Mystery

**Alright, got another chapter up! How am I doing so far with the new arc? Is there anything I should add or anything you don't like? You guys have to tell me, or I won't be able to make it better for all of you!**

**As always, please review and thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 4: Mystery_

Natsu, Laxus, Happy, and the Strauss siblings finally reached the city where their client, the mayor, was waiting.

The Salamander glanced around the snow-covered streets, noting the people walking around had somewhat anxious expressions on their faces. He frowned at that, "What are they so uptight about?"

"Natsu, this city is called New Brago." Mira explained, "Seventeen years ago, it was destroyed by Deliora. They've only recently finished rebuilding it, and if the mayor is asking us to investigate monster sightings, then the rest of the citizens must be worried. A demon did destroy their home once."

Elfman grunted, "It's manly to hunt monsters."

"Deliora is in a totally different class from any monster you've even fought." Laxus said firmly, "Even Ur didn't dare try to take that beast on. She took Gray and Lyon south, _away _from it. If even a Wizard Saint thought it better to avoid Deliora, then don't even think of trying to take it on."

"I thought Deliora went missing ten years ago. Just after Gray and Lyon came to Fairy Tail, didn't it stop rampaging?" Lisanna asked.

Laxus shrugged, "That's what happened, but Deliora is an immortal demon. Unless someone killed it, that beast is probably still out there somewhere."

Natsu cracked his knuckles, "Well, it's lucky it ain't fighting us. So let's go find out what the mayor wants."

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed, then led the way to the mayor's home in the center of the city.

**/**

The mayor was a tough looking man, but his eyes held the wisdom of one who was years beyond his age, which was surprisingly young.

He also got straight to business.

"You must be the Fairy Tail mages. Thank you for coming so far. My name is Brago. Please, have a seat." the man motioned to a comfortable-looking, black couch.

Mira and Lisanna sat down, while Natsu, Laxus, and Elfman stood behind the couch with their arms crossed. Happy deposited himself in Lisanna's lap, chewing happily on a fish while Brago started talking.

"Obviously, you must be wondering why I summoned you so far north." he decided.

"Well, your job description was a little hazy." Mira pointed out, "You didn't give us many details on the monster you want us to investigate, what it's been doing, or what we should do about it."

Brago cracked a smile and nodded, "Good, so you do have a decent head on you. I expect nothing less from an S-Class mage of your stature, Mirajane."

Mira smiled, "Thank you."

Laxus didn't seem to enjoy that, but the flicker of dislike in his eyes was too brief for anyone to notice.

"I'll be honest, the job description is basically as informed as I am." Brago admitted, "The mountains just north of here have been having some strange occurrences lately. And I'm not talking Vulcans or Snow Wyverns, they never get up to much trouble around here. No, it's something else."

"It started about two weeks ago, just after the Grand Magic Games ended in Crocas. The townsfolk reported hearing eerie noises in the mountains. Rumbling noises that resemble those of earthquakes, but the ground here has never known earthquakes, or volcanoes or any of that. The most earth-shaking events we've had are avalanches, and those are too far from the city to do us any harm."

Natsu frowned, "So what's so bad about these noises?"

Brago clasped his hand behind his back and sighed, "Well, honestly, nothing. It's done us no harm, but I had to be totally certain that our city was in no danger."

Laxus arched an eyebrow, "I understand that this city has seen some really bad times, but isn't hiring a group of S-Class mages and offering a vacation house as a reward a little over the top?"

"My name is that of our old city, before it was destroyed by Deliora." Brago said, "I was just five when the attack happened, and only I survived. Since then, I promised to rebuild my city from the ground up and keep it safe from that kind of devastation, so no more massacres would ever occur. I have money, and if I have to spend great amounts of it to keep the people who have placed their trust in me safe, then I shall do so. I would much rather be safe than sorry."

Even Laxus cracked a grin at that. The mages could all see Brago had only the safety of his city in concern, so Mira nodded, "Alright, we'll investigate the sounds your people reported."

Brago's shoulders seemed to sag with relief, but he kept his manner professional and dipped his head, "Thank you very much. But it is almost dark and I know you all must be tired from your journey. I've reserved rooms for you in our hotel just down the street. Relax, take a day if you have to in order to recover, then please begin your investigation. If you need anything from me, just ask."

**/**

The mages left Brago's house and walked to the inn he had directed them to, where they were quickly set up with two rooms: one for the girls, and another for the boys.

Laxus didn't even bother walking to the room for the boys- he reserved his own the moment he was faced with sharing a room with Natsu and Elfman. Mira then decided she could share a room with Laxus so Natsu could stay with Lisanna. All was well.

Except for Elfman. He was faced with an awkward situation- he wasn't sure if he should be more protective of his sisters, but dared not invoke the wrath of their male companions.

Natsu and Laxus had proved multiple times they were way out of his league in combat.

Oh, well. At least Happy offered to bunk with him so Elfman didn't feel alone.

Happy led Elfman to his room, the exceed snickering back at the other mages, "You liiiiike each other!"

Laxus sweat dropped, "Maybe I should have told him to go on a mission with the Thunder God Tribe…"

"I feel kind of bad for him." Mira admitted.

Natsu shrugged, "He's dealt with it before. He'll be fine."

"I'm pretty sure he's never been in a situation quite like this before." Laxus said slowly, then glanced at Natsu and Lisanna with a raised eyebrow, "Unless there was something I didn't hear about…?"

"NO!" they both said quickly.

"Uh-huh. Be glad Erza ain't here to break down doors." Laxus grinned and walked off, leaving Natsu and Lisanna with guilty blushes on their faces.

Mira also flashed them a smile and a wink, "Sleep well, guys."

Lisanna smirked back, "Oh, we will. Hope you do to. Is Laxus gonna be a gentleman and take the floor, or are you gonna ask him to sleep in the same bed as you? It is pretty cold outside."

Mira turned a faint shade of pink, then after apparently reflecting on her sister's inability to lose an argument, wisely chose not to continue the conversation and quickly hurried after Laxus.

Natsu leaned over and whispered in her ear, "We should see if you can argue this monster into stopping whatever it's doing. I'll bet you can do it, if you can shut up Mira _and _Laxus just by talking."

Lisanna winked, "Not a bad idea, but if it can't speak my language, you and the others know how to speak combat. We'll argue it into stopping, one way or another."

He grinned, "You got that right."

**/\/\/\/\/\**

Savannah and Millie hadn't moved camp since their discovery of the severely injured man in the forest, which was now two days. They couldn't move him- he was still to weak and hurt to risk that, but on the bright side, even though he hadn't yet regained consciousness, Savannah had gotten him to swallow some stew she made. That was a good sign he was recovering.

The man was a puzzle to Savannah. Even though he definitely had the scent of a Dragon Slayer, she couldn't recall seeing a person quite like him in the Grand Magic Games. Another thing that bothered her was that she couldn't tell what element he used. Most Dragon Slayers had a faint, underlying scent that defined their power, but this man didn't have that…it was like he was a Dragon Slayer without an element to call his own.

Often, when Millie was either sleeping or not paying attention, Savannah would sit by him and just watch his sleeping face. She tried to imagine this man as the Dragon Slayer who fought the dragons in Crocas, but even though she could picture the beginning of conflict, the man's magic remained a mystery.

But even so…

On the morning of the third day, Savannah woke up and glanced to where the man lay. She blinked, then frowned.

He wasn't there.

She jumped to her feet and whipped her gaze back and forth, then caught sight of him hunched over at the lakeside, cupping his hands to drink water. Savannah ran over with a shout, "H-Hey!"

The man froze as she came up behind him, "You can't move right now! You're too hurt- AH!"

Quick as a snake, the man whipped back around and grabbed her by the throat, then yanked her close and hissed, "Who are you?!"

Savannah struggled to get loose for a moment, then realized with shock that he was a lot stronger than she'd given him credit for. Even though he was recovering from serious injuries, he managed to lift her off the ground with just one hand.

He snarled again, "Goddammit, where am I?!"

"Y-you're in a forest!" she gasped, "W-we pulled you out of the water!"

The man stared at her and glanced back at the lake, "That water?"

"Y-yes!" Savannah gasped, "You were hurt! We were j-just trying to help you!"

The man hesitated, but she muttered, "I'm not your enemy, I promise!"

After an eerie moment of silence in the woods, the man slowly put her down and let her go. Savannah clutched at her sore throat and coughed a few times from the strain.

He stared around them, then looked his bandaged body over and blinked a few times, as if something were in his eye. His voice was steady, "How did I get here?"

Savannah rubbed her throat for a moment, then glanced at him, "You were swept down the river…you must have gone over the falls. We found you in the lake."

"We?" he queried.

She motioned to the still-asleep brown exceed, "That's my friend, Millie. I'm Savannah. What's your name?"

"Name…" the man repeated, then shook his head, "Name…"

Savannah frowned, "Don't you have a name?"

"I-I'm not sure." he muttered.

"Oh…well, where are you from?" she asked.

"I don't know."

Savannah blinked, "What do you mean?"

The man dropped to his knees and stared at his reflection in the water. For a minute, he was silent, simply staring back at himself through the glassy lake. For some reason, his face made him decide he was probably 19 or 20 years old. Black hair covered the right side of his face, with longer white hair on the left. A sharp, curved tattoo was visible around his left eye.

He had no vision in his right, and a brief shifting of his hair revealed his right eye was missing, replaced by a long, jagged scar that reached the bridge of his nose. His remaining orb was a bright red that made him shiver slightly, as if it held an anger that was not his.

"I don't know anything." he whispered.

Savannah stared at him and gulped, then choked out, "Y-you lost your memories…?"

The man stared down at his hands, clenching and unclenching them uneasily.

Savannah really wasn't sure how to handle this development, but she knew that this man needed to lie down. She put a hand on his shoulder, to which he tensed, but her voice gained a soothing tone, "I'm not going to hurt you…but you need to rest. Your body has to heal. I don't know who you are or how you were hurt, but I said I would care for you, so I will. Please, come back and rest a while longer."

He shook his head, "I can't…I have to figure out what happened to me. Find someone who knows who I am."

"You'll kill yourself if you do." she protested, "I get that you want to find out who you are, but in your condition-"

"I'll go." he interrupted, then bowed his head to her, "Thank you for your hospitality, but I really have to get moving."

"What's your plan?"

He blinked, "Excuse me?"

Savannah crossed her arms and frowned at him, "What are you planning to do? You don't know who or where you are. Supposing you actually find your way out of the woods, how do you think you'll find someone who knows you?"

The man hesitated, so she pressed on, "And you can't seriously be planning to go anywhere wearing only those ragged pants you've got on."

He looked down and realized she was right. No shirt, shoes, and a pair of ragged white trousers that looked like they would not last more than a few days. The bandages covering his chest also seemed to lack any way of keeping him warm, and he also noticed a distinct hunger in his stomach.

Savannah saw his shoulders sag and hid a triumphant smirk, "Well, I suppose we could help you out. Give us a few minutes to pack and we'll take you to the city to get you cleaned up."

The man seemed to consider this then nodded, "Very well then."

**/**

"We're doing what?!" Millie hissed.

She was astounded at Savannah's reasoning. Not only did their patient have no memories, he had also attempted to strangle the young girl, and to the exceed, that was a clear sign that he was probably a psycho.

Savannah nodded as she bunched up her sleeping bag, "We have to help him. We can't just leave him like this."

"He also tried to kill you, doesn't that say something about him?!" Millie gaped, "Savannah, he's dangerous! He could've killed us in our sleep! You didn't even hear him get up!"

"But he didn't." Savannah said gently, "Millie, he's scared, and hurt, and he has no idea who or where he even is. It's understandable he got a little defensive. Just trust me, okay? We'll help him out, and once he gets better, we'll let him be, alright?"

Millie hesitated, then crossed her arms and huffed, "Fine. But when he's fully healed, that's as long as I'm staying. He gives me the creeps."

Savannah smirked at her friend, "Oh, don't be that way. He's not so scary."

"Who says I was scared?!" the exceed muttered, then flew ahead to their new companion.

The girl rolled her eyes. _Of course you're not. _

**/\/\/\/\/\**

It only took them a few hours to get back to Crocas. Despite the man's injuries, he kept up well, showing no signs of weakness, but his single eye flickered back and forth, scanning every single place for any sign of a threat.

Savannah stopped him at the edge of the city, "Right, Millie and I will go into town and bring you some new clothes. If anyone talks to you, just say that you're waiting for a friend to meet up with you."

"Yeah, and that your name is X." Millie added.

The man raised an eyebrow, "X?"

Savannah sighed, "Well, it's true you need a name, but I don't think X is very believable…how about Cross instead?"

"Isn't that just a longer way of saying X?" Millie asked.

"It's better than calling him just X." Savannah pointed out, "Just say it's your last name and you like it better than your first."

"Cross" shrugged, "Very well."

"Great! We'll see you in a little bit, then!" Savannah chirped, then led Millie into the city. A glance back showed that Cross had decided to sit on a tree limb that was out of sight to most people.

Millie also noticed, causing her tail to twitch, "He's very cautious, isn't he?"

"He is a Dragon Slayer." Savannah pointed out.

"Savannah, you're not that cautious." Millie shot back.

"And I have all my memories. He doesn't." she finished, then turned and walked into a clothing shop. She tapped her fingers on her leg and scanned the clothes hanging from racks, "Let's see, which one…"

**/\/\/\/\/\**

They came back with some new clothes and shoes for Cross, who was still camping up high in a tree. Savannah called up, "We're back! You can come down now!"

Cross climbed down with surprising speed and stealth, but paused on a limb just above them, "Give me the clothes."

Savannah handed them to him, and the man shot back up into the tree, hiding himself in the thick leaves.

"Oh, okay." Millie remarked, then arched an eyebrow at her friend, "So, our patient climbs trees like a monkey."

Savannah shrugged, "Would you rather he changed down here?"

The exceed frowned, "What…?"

As she comprehended this, a pair of ragged trousers fell from the tree and landed on the ground beside them.

If Millie could pale, she would've done it, but she settled for a hiss, "Don't you _dare_ look up, missie!"

"What are you, my mother?" Savannah giggled, but listened to her anyway. _Not that I would EVER do something like that anyway!_

A minute or two later, Cross dropped down from the trees in a new pair of white trousers, a dark gray t-shirt, and a large, black coat with white trimmings. A pair of dark boots finished up the outfit.

Savannah smiled and was about to comment on the new look when she noticed Cross dropping the bandages that had once been tied to his chest from his hands. She frowned instead, "That isn't a good idea."

Cross shrugged, "It's fine. I don't need them now anyway. So, where do we go first?"

The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers, "Let's try the police first. We'll see if they have any information on you. Maybe someone's put up a missing poster or something."

"Well, let's go then." Cross strode past her towards the city until Savannah giggled. He turned around with a frown, "What's so funny?"

"Uh, the police station is that way, mister." Millie said, pointing to the right, whereas Cross had tried to go left.

The man looked mildly offended, "Well, excuse me if I can't even remember who I am."

"Oh, lighten up!" Savannah laughed, "We might be trying to figure out who you are, but that doesn't mean you have to be so uptight. I know it's important, so let's do our best to find out about you and have a good time doing it!"

Cross sighed, "I don't understand you, but very well. Come on, then, lead the way."


	5. Demon

**Okay, I didn't update the other day, so today I'm posting two new chapters! You wanted the intense good stuff? Here it is! **

**I have nothing more to tell you on that note. Find out! **

**As always, please review and thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 5: Demon_

In the darkness of a mountain cave, a voice whispered softly, echoing into the emptiness around it. _It's him…Natsu…He's close…_

The cavern seemed to shiver and rumbled a response.

_Hhhhh…haaaahh…_

**/**

Natsu woke up with the dark of night still outside the windows of the hotel room, frowning at something on the edge of his hearing. Next to him, Lisanna still slept peacefully on her side, a happy smile on her face.

Slowly, he crawled out of bed so as not to disturb her, then walked to the window and opened it slightly. As he suspected, the sound was slightly clearer, but still very faint, as if it were from a long ways away.

A cold breeze blew in, but he didn't notice thanks to his inner flame, which made him mostly immune to cold. Natsu was trying to gauge the sound and figure out what it was.

_It sounds like…breathing? It's so deep and really long between breaths, but it seems like something huge is asleep right now…that's weird…_

"N-Natsu, wh-what are you doing?"

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Lisanna sitting up, the blankets bunched around her while she shivered. Natsu realized the cold air was still blowing into their room, so he quickly shut the windows and walked back to her.

"Sorry. I heard something outside." he told her.

Lisanna pouted, "It couldn't wait 'til morning? You know it's like twenty degrees outside, right? And now that cold is in the room."

Natsu grinned and got back in bed, then brought her close to him, enveloping the shivering girl with his extreme body heat. He whispered in her ear, "Better?"

"Mmhm…" she mumbled sleepily, snuggling into his arms as she closed her eyes. Lisanna leaned her head back slightly and smiled, "Thank you."

"Anytime, Anna." he said, rubbing her back soothingly. Natsu lay back down with his arms around Lisanna, who was quickly lulled to sleep by his warmth.

But Natsu was still thinking about the odd noise he'd heard. _What kind of monster makes a sound like that?_

**/\/\/\/\/\**

As Savannah led Cross and Millie closer to the authorities office, Cross began getting increasingly uneasy, glancing in every direction.

Millie finally cast a confused look at him, "What's wrong with you?"

"…" Cross said nothing at first, then paused and saw two guards nearby, who were staring at him with a mixture of alarm and disbelief. He turned around with a mutter, "Come on, let's go someplace else."

Savannah frowned, "But we're almost there…?"

Cross opened his mouth to say something, but then a third guard appeared and called to him, "You! Stop right there. Don't move!"

The people around them backed up a bit from Cross, giving him curious looks, but the guard looked angry. He walked up with a set of handcuffs, glaring at Cross with an intense look. The other guards were more hesitant, appearing very uneasy at the sight of the man.

Savannah stared at them, "Excuse me, sir, is there a problem?"

The guard glanced at her, then back to Cross, "Who's your friend here, young lady?"

"This is Cross." she said, "He's new in town."

"Is he now?" the guard grunted, "And what is _'Cross'_ doing here?"

Millie piped in, "He just finished shopping with us. We were about going sightseeing."

The guard shook his head, "'Fraid not, missie. Your _friend_ here is gonna have to come with me. He's under arrest."

Savannah's eyes widened in alarm, "Wh-what? But he's done nothing wrong!"

Ignoring her, the man nodded to the other two guards, "Let's take him in. You, show me your hands."

Cross held up his hands, a confused expression on his face, but there was a spark in his single eye.

The moment the first guard touched his shoulder, Cross moved on reflex. He grabbed the man's wrist, twisted, and punched him in the gut with enough force to knock him out. The other guards lunged, but he spun again, elbowing the second to break his nose, then lashing out with a fierce roundhouse kick which caught the third guard in the face.

The watching crowd gasped in shock, but Cross didn't waste any more time. As soon as the guards were down- which was in the blink of an eye- he grabbed Savannah's wrist and rushed away, with Millie scrambling to keep up behind them.

"How do we get out of this city?" he demanded.

"J-just follow this street!" Savannah gasped, still stunned by what Cross had done to the guards.

**/**

They ran out of the city and didn't stop for another half a mile, where they would be able to see if anyone was tracking them. For now, they were safe.

Savannah caught her breath and stared at Cross with wide eyes, "What was that about? Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I do not know." he muttered, disturbed.

Millie was bristling, "Well, at least we know one thing about you: You're wanted."

"Yeah, and I don't even know why." the man threw up his hands in frustration, pacing back and forth until he stopped and crossed his arms, "I should've asked what they were charging me with."

Savannah shook her head, "I don't think that matters now. From what I just, you _must _be a Dragon Slayer. You're fighting skills looked like they were all instinct and reflex."

Cross frowned, "Dragon Slayer? What's a Dragon Slayer?"

The girl took a seat by a nearby tree, "A Dragon Slayer, like the name implies, is a person who uses a special type of Lost Magic to fight and defeat dragons. Dragon Slayers are blessed with the senses and powers of dragons. For example, a Dragon Slayer can eat their own elements to power themselves up, their senses are magnified much more than a normal person's, and they also have great fighting skills. You smell like a Dragon Slayer to me, and you fight like one, so you must be one of us."

"What do you mean, 'One of us'?" he asked.

Savannah smiled, "I'm a Dragon Slayer myself. My senses are heightened, like I said, so I can tell you are a Dragon Slayer as well. But I can't tell what element you have."

Cross stared at her, "I don't understand what you keep meaning by, 'Element' and, 'Power'. What does that mean?"

"Let me show you." Savannah got up and walked over to a grassy patch of ground, then opened her mouth and sucked in air. As she did so, the grass beneath her trembled and flew up into her mouth, where she swallowed happily and smiled at Cross, "That's what it means to eat your element. Mine is Grass, and this is what I mean by, 'Power'."

Now she sucked in a breath and let out a forceful shout, "Grass Dragon's Roar!"

A twister of grass blades tore out of her mouth and crashed into a nearby tree, shredding the bark until the great oak fell over with a loud creaking sound.

Cross's eyebrows went up high, "That…was impressive."

"That's called a breath attack." Savannah told him, "Breath is a dragon's main weapon. But I can use my Grass Dragon Slayer Magic to use different attacks and heal injuries. That's how I healed your wounds."

The man nodded slowly, "I see…"

She watched him hopefully, "Is this ringing any bells?"

"Unfortunately, no." Cross murmured, then glanced at her curiously, "So, there are other Dragon Slayers like you, right?"

"Yep!" Savannah said cheerfully, "There's a Sky Dragon Slayer about my age. Also Iron, Shadow, and I think Poison, too."

"Don't forget the Fire, White, and Lightning Dragon Slayers!" Millie chipped in.

Cross frowned for a moment, "You said White?"

"Mmhm." Savanna nodded, "Well, it's called White, but it's really a type of Holy or Light magic. I guess it's just called White instead because of the color or purity."

Cross was silent for a time, having thought for a moment that he'd remembered something crucial. He looked up at the sun, trying to gauge how much time was left for the day, "Where are these other Dragon Slayers?"

Savannah tapped her chin, "Let's see…Well, they all belong to a magic guild called Fairy Tail. We can try there."

The man agreed immediately, "Very well, then. We'll go meet them and see if they know anything about me."

**/\/\/\/\/\**

The next morning in New Brago, Natsu awoke to glaring light that reflected off the snow, making him squint accusingly. His irritation, however, was quickly forgotten when the scent of something delicious found its way to his nose. He glanced to the side and saw Lisanna making breakfast on the stove, humming a light tune as she cooked.

He grinned and got up quietly, deciding to have a little fun. Natsu snuck up behind her, then grabbed her by the waist quickly.

As expected, Lisanna jumped and squeaked in surprise, "Hhh!"

He pulled her into a hug and laughed, "Good morning to you too."

Lisanna turned in his grasp and bonked his head with a spatula, "Don't scare me like that!"

Natsu chuckled, but didn't let go of her. He peeked over her shoulder and glanced at the stove, "So, what's for breakfast?"

She smiled, unable to remain mad at him for long, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Actually, I would." he muttered as his stomach growled loudly.

Lisanna giggled and turned back around, talking over her shoulder, "Pancakes, hash browns, apple slices, let's see, I think there was also some sausages in the fridge here. Anything else I should add?"

Natsu shrugged, "Dunno…do they have strawberries?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, "You know, I'm not sure. Maybe not in the hotel, but they might have some in the market. It seems a little cold for them, though. Should I go check later?"

"Nah." he grinned, "I was just thinking about having those for a snack, but your cooking is way better than chewing on some berries."

Lisanna's smile widened considerably at that. _I wonder if this is what a typical housewife morning is like…_

She fell silent as she realized where her train of thought was going.

Natsu blinked as she stopped talking and squeezed her waist a little, "Hey…? Is everything alright?"

Lisanna stirred and looked back at him, "Yeah. Just thinking…"

"…About…?"

"Us."

He tilted his head, "Oh. Well, what are you thinking about us?"

She turned back to the stove and flipped a pancake, then leaned back slightly into Natsu's chest, "I just wonder what our life is going to be like in the future. Do you ever think about that?"

Natsu pressed his nose into her hair, breathing her scent as he thought for an answer. When he responded, his voice was quiet, "Well…To tell you the truth, I don't really think about the future much. I think about the here and now. Like a moment ago, I was just thinking that even in pajamas with your hair all messy, you're beautiful."

Lisanna's cheeks heated up a little at that, and her smile grew until it hurt slightly.

Natsu squeezed her again, "You don't have to worry about the future, because what won't ever change is that I'll be here with you. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

"Natsu."

Lisanna turned in his grasp once more and wrapped her arms around his neck so their foreheads touched. Her eyes were sparkling with delight, "I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"I'm just being honest." he murmured.

She didn't wait another second to lean up and kiss him, closing her eyes at the soft contact. He kissed back gently, holding her closely until her hand lightly rested on his chest.

Lisanna's eyes were soft with an amused expression, "I'd love to keep kissing you, but if I do, our breakfast will get burnt."

Natsu grinned and gave her one last kiss on the cheek before he pulled away and walked to his bag for a shirt. Lisanna finished making breakfast in a way better mood than she had when she started.

**/**

Breakfast was finished quickly, especially when Happy and the others came to their room to eat too.

Mira finished her plate and sighed with satisfaction, "Lisanna, I have to say, you've gotten very good at cooking."

"Thanks, but you're still better than me." Lisanna said ruefully.

Laxus shrugged, "Well, best way to find out would be to have a contest. I volunteer to be the judge."

Happy, who was munching on a fish, twitched his tail, "Isn't a judge supposed to be unbiased? And you just want to eat more delicious food, don't you?"

He grinned, "Are you kidding me, cat? Yeah, I wanna eat more. These two cook better than any restaurant I've ever been to."

Elfman grunted, "Cooking is a man."

"That makes no sense!" Natsu mumbled through his last pancake.

Happy shrugged, "You're Natsu, I thought you weren't supposed to have any sense."

The Salamander rolled his eyes and laughed, "Ha! Only when it comes to beating the tar out of Gray! And Gajeel! Also Sting, Erza, Gildarts, Laxus-"

When his name was mentioned, Laxus snorted, "I'd like to see you try!"

Natsu's eyebrows shot up, "You wanna go, sparky?"

"Oh, I really hate that name." Laxus growled, rising out of his chair.

"Man!" Elfman muttered, also getting out of his seat.

Lisanna stopped the boys by standing up with a warning look, "No fighting at the table, or I won't make more later. Fighting, or dinner, it's your choice."

The boys immediately sat down, not wanting to risk the wrath of the chef.

Mira giggled, "There's really no beating you in an argument, Lisanna."

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed cheerfully.

Elfman crossed his arms, "If we're men, we'd better go check out the mountains Brago told us about."

Natsu pointed a fork at him, "That reminds me, I think I could hear the sounds he mentioned last night."

"You too, huh?" Laxus asked, "That deep sound that was kinda like breathing?"

"Exactly." Natsu agreed.

"Sure it wasn't just you two snoring?" Happy joked.

Mira rolled her eyes, "I'm sure it wasn't them. I, for one, slept great."

"Oh, I'm sure you did." Lisanna said mischievously.

Her sister blushed, "Not like that!"

Lisanna giggled, "I know Mira, I'm messing with you."

Happy got a sneaky look, "And what were you up to, Lisanna? Did you and Natsu have a good time since Erza wasn't around to break in?"

Unlike her sister, Lisanna didn't cave in, especially after her great morning. She replied cheerfully, "Well, it did get pretty cold, but I think I slept best of all since I had a human heater right beside me."

"Ohhh! You liiiiike him! Bufufufu!" Happy snickered.

Lisanna pet the blue exceed's head gently, smiling fondly at her, 'Son'. "Yes, Happy. I certainly do." she told him.

Natsu grinned at the sight, but got up and stretched, "Alright, let's go check out that mountain!

**/**

To say the mountain road was cold would be an understatement. Even though the snow was falling lightly for now, there was a freezing breeze ahead of dark clouds in the sky, which signaled an approaching storm. Most everyone was dressed warmly, except for Natsu of course, who radiated heat and felt perfectly normal in the cold weather.

He and Laxus paused for a moment after trekking half an hour into the mountains, getting the group's attention.

"Did you guys hear something?" Mira asked.

Laxus nodded, "Yeah, it's that weird breathing sound again."

Natsu was silent for once, sniffing the air with narrowed eyes.

Happy hovered beside his friend, "Natsu, what's wrong?"

"…" the Salamander said nothing, but glanced around until his gaze focused on something hidden by some huge winter pines. He nodded in their direction, "That way."

As it turned out, the huge pines hid a large, but narrow crevasse in the mountainside, from which the strange breathing sound magnified.

Elfman shivered, "Even I can hear it now…how creepy."

"Do you have any idea how creepy it was waking up in the middle of the night to that noise?" Laxus muttered.

Mira hid a smile, "I thought you were gonna blackout the hotel."

He shrugged, "Hey, it was freaking weird. I thought there was something in the room until I figured it was from outside."

Natsu kept sniffing the air, his dark eyes intense.

"Natsu?" Lisanna tapped his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

Laxus walked ahead, "Let's go. Be careful, you guys."

The group slowly, cautiously moved through the crevasse, which opened up to a huge, dark cavern.

Natsu lit up one of his fingers to act as a torch, but paused and glanced sideways, then tossed a small fireball.

The fire hit the cave floor, then sparked, and suddenly flames erupted from the ground and spread in a semi-circle around the cave. Natsu tossed another fireball in the opposite direction and the same thing happened. Now the whole cavern was lit up, revealing it to be a huge, dome like structure.

Mira frowned at the flammable substance, which was liquid in form, "What is that?"

"I don't know, but it smelled like oil or something." Natsu muttered, "I figured it would light since I can't see anything in here. But I didn't know there was so much of it…?"

Laxus was staring up at something in the back of the cave which made his eyes widen, "Whoa…"

Pinned to the mountainside, almost as if it had grown from the rock, was a huge, dark blue monster. It was being held up crucifix style, and seemed to be asleep.

The deep breathing reverberated through them and made the group shiver. Lisanna gulped, "Th-that thing is huge…"

"I would not worry about it."

Their eyes darted back to the floor at the voice, where someone crouched before the beast pinned to the mountainside.

Elfman stared at the figure, "Who are you…?"

The man stood up, then slowly turned to look at them.

Natsu froze.

Black robes, a large, flowing white toga, messy black hair, and eyes dark as a new moon.

The man offered a smile, "It's been quite some time. Hasn't it, Natsu?"

Lisanna glanced at the Salamander, "You know this guy?"

Happy gasped, "Y-you're that creepy guy from Tenrou Island! Remember him, Natsu?!"

"Whether he remembers or not is irrelevant for now." the man said clearly, "I am referred to with many names, but you most likely know my most infamous persona. I am Zeref."


	6. Zeref and Deliora

**Okay, another chapter! I really want some feedback on this one, especially regarding the battle. Please tell me what you think!**

**As always, please REVIEW and thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 6: Zeref and Deliora_

"I am Zeref." the man told them.

_That _seemed to make everyone in the room stop breathing for a moment.

Mira gulped, "Z-Zeref?"

Zeref closed his eyes with a smile, "Correct. Seven years ago, I was present on Tenrou Island during the clash between Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart. I watched Acnologia eradicate the island…or so I thought. I should've known Mavis would protect her guild."

Laxus's eyes widened, "How do you know about the First Master?!"

"Let's just say…she and I are old acquaintances." the Death Mage murmured, then studied the blonde man with piercing black eyes, "As are you and I, Laxus Dreyar, through Raven Tail."

The Lightning Dragon stiffened, "Excuse me?"

"I was watching the Grand Magic Games, you know." Zeref told them, to which a small, dark creature hopped onto the man's shoulder and chittered mischievously.

Happy bristled, "Th-that's the thing that was with that Obra guy!"

Lisanna was staring at the Death Mage with intense blue eyes, "I don't care about that. What do you want with Natsu?"

Zeref eyed her with a spark of what may have been amusement, "Fiery. A suitable partner for the Flame Dragon Slayer. Wouldn't you agree, Natsu?"

"Why don't you quit talking like that and tell us why you're here." Natsu growled menacingly.

The man turned to gaze at the beast pinned to the mountainside. His voice grew soft, "Do you know what this is? It is a monster who has fallen to slumber, for the lack of commands from his master have caused him to lose all purpose to exist. This is the Demon of Destruction, Deliora."

"Deliora?!" Elfman gaped.

"Seventeen years ago, he fell into a deep slumber, having lost the will to keep going after so many hundreds of years of war." Zeref told them, "But he has been disturbed…because of you."

Laxus arched an eyebrow, "Because of us? None of us have even seen Deliora before. We all assumed it had died somehow."

"Deliora is immortal. He will not simply die of old age." Zeref murmured, then turned to glare at them accusingly, "But you, Natsu, Laxus, are the reason his sleep has been disturbed. Your clash with the dragons during the Dragon King Festival has caused many ancient evils to stir in what should have been a permanent slumber."

Natsu glared right back, "You're blaming us?! Reyos was the one who brought the dragons! We were just protecting our friends!"

Zeref's eyes narrowed, "Reyos…ah, Skyadrum's shadowy creation. I'm well aware it was his future counterpart who summoned the seven dragons, but it was your battle with them that has sent ripples of discord across the world. The wrath of a dragon has not been felt for many centuries, and the oldest monsters who remember that time now realize a new war is coming. They are preparing for it as we speak. So must you."

"What does that mean?" Natsu growled.

Zeref smiled again, "Have you grown since Tenrou Island, Natsu? Back then, your power was…insufficient. But I saw your fight during the final day of the Grand Magic Games…how curious. Very well, I'll give you another chance."

Lisanna reached and grasped Natsu's arm, in case she had to hold him back, "Chance for what?"

"Natsu. Kill me." Zeref said simply.

The group was taken aback.

Happy bristled, "Wh-what?!"

"Kill- quit screwing with us!" Natsu roared.

"I am not trying to fool you." Zeref said, an edge in his tone, "I have waited 400 years to die…I have watched countless humans perish at my hands. You could say…I am no longer an existence known as a, 'Human'. So, Natsu…can you do it?"

The Salamander was baring his fangs angrily, "I don't know what your deal is, and I don't know why the hell you keep talking like you know me. I've never met you before Tenrou Island. And I won't just kill someone because they ask me to."

"Oh...?" Zeref remarked, then his eyes shifted color and suddenly they were blood red with a lethal expression, "Then perhaps…"

_"You would be more inclined to kill if I slaughtered your comrades?"_

That was it.

Natsu bolted at the Death Mage with flames blazing over his body, a ferocious roar tearing from his jaws.

"Natsu!" Lisanna shouted after him, but he didn't bother responding.

Laxus also rushed forward in a burst of lightning, clenching his fists with an angry glare on his face. He yelled back to the rest of the group, "Stay back!"

Mira ignored him and exploded into her Satan Soul, lunging at the Death Mage beside the Lightning Dragon, "We have to go all out right from the start!"

Elfman called after them as the three attacked, "Watch out for his magic! If it even touches you, you'll die!"

The Salamander's fist crashed into Zeref's face, but the Death Mage simply took one step back and chuckled with a goading tone, "Surely that isn't all you've got, Natsu?"

"Shut up!" Natsu lunged again and rammed his knee into Zeref's jaw, making the man's head snap back.

Mira grabbed Zeref by the collar and yanked him back to punch him rapidly, but the man simply caught her fist and squeezed with incredible force, forcing her to gasp in pain and fall to her knees.

Zeref glared down at her as her knuckles cracked, "Do not interfere."

Laxus appeared behind him and punched the Death Mage into the ground, causing him to release Mira, but Zeref spun and lashed out with a kick. The blow caught Laxus in the stomach and sent him flying straight up to crash into the cavern roof.

The Lightning Dragon was stunned. _Hellfire! He's strong!_

Natsu kept going at it, sucking in a deep breath before jumping up and snarling, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Zeref was buried under an intense blanket of heat, but with a sharp wave of his hand, the flames dissipated and vanished. The Death Mage glared up at Natsu, but it was as though he were studying the Salamander.

Natsu decided to up the pressure and spread crimson dragon scales all over his body in flame patterns.

Zeref smiled, "Dragon Force…now we're getting somewhere."

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

A blast of lightning hit Zeref like an artillery shell, sending the immortal off balance.

"Natsu, Mira, get him!" Laxus roared.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" Natsu bellowed, unleashing a spiraling torrent of flame at the Death Mage.

"Soul Extinction!" Mira shouted, firing a blast of pure darkness beside Natsu.

The two attacks slammed into Zeref, generating a massive explosion that shook the cavern.

Laxus landed between Natsu and Mira, an unwavering stare on his face, "Did we get him?"

The smoke cleared suddenly, revealing Zeref to have blown it away with a flick of his hand. The Death Mage smirked, "Is that all? I…barely felt it."

Natsu's jaw dropped, "No way..."

_"Nothing?!" _Mira gasped in disbelief.

"I'm disappointed, Natsu." Zeref murmured, "What happened to the power you used to crush Minerva? You can do better than this, surely."

Natsu bristled, then lightning sparks flickered over his body, "You're messing with us!"

"Try me."

Laxus went into Dragon Force, while Mira started using Satan Soul: Sitri.

"Try _this!" _Natsu roared, lunging to punch Zeref in the face, "Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!"

Zeref raised an arm and blocked, but the force made him skid back a ways, causing him to arch an eyebrow, "Better. But still not nearly enough."

"Oh really?!"

Laxus shot over and sucked in a deep breath, "Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Zeref held a hand out as the lightning blast approached, stopping it and dispersing the breath attack around him.

Laxus stared, "You're kidding."

"Ohh!" Mira lunged and kicked at the back of Zeref's head, but he ducked and reached up to grab her leg, ignoring the fact that it was burning with dark fire. He spun and hurled Mira straight down into the ground, crushing it beneath her.

The girl choked and lost her Satan Soul, glaring up weakly at the Death Mage who stared down contemptuously, "I told you…_not to interfere_…"

Zeref slowly brought a hand up and pointed it at her, generating a small sphere of pitch-black energy.

Lisanna shrieked, "MIRA!"

_"Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!"_

Zeref glanced sideways momentarily before a blast of fused fire and lightning crashed into him, lifting the Death Mage off his feet and sending him flying into the cave wall.

Laxus rushed to Mira and quickly lifted her up, then shot back to the others.

Lisanna and Elfman scrambled over to their sister, who was shaking her head, "I-I'm fine…he just stunned me…"

Happy glanced over at Natsu with real fear in his eyes, "Natsu, we have to go! We can't beat this guy!"

"You're just now learning this?"

Zeref emerged from the blast totally unscathed, his crimson eyes narrow slits, "You should have realized the moment your Dragon Force had no effect on me that you were fighting a hopeless battle…but then again, it never has been in the nature of a Dragon Slayer, particularly one from Fairy Tail, to know death when it looks them in the eyes. And that is all the more true when facing a child of the Flame Dragon King."

He snorted at the group, who were shocked that the Death Mage was utterly unharmed, then turned away to Deliora, "I have lost interest in our bout. Let's see how you fight against something that is more…your level."

Zeref held a hand up and widened his eyes, sending a blast of black energy at the slumbering demon. The energy made Deliora shudder, then spread through its whole body in waves.

**_"RRRRAAAAAAGGHHH!"_**

The mountain rumbled, then Deliora exploded from the rock with a titanic roar. Everything seemed to quake in fear of the massive demon, who looked down on Zeref and kneeled, bowing its head.

Zeref turned and faced the Fairy Tail mages, "If you can defeat Deliora, perhaps I will grant you another chance to kill me in the future. Until then, farewell, Natsu."

He strode for the cavern entrance, but the mages were blocking his path.

Laxus glared at him, "And just where do you think you're-?!"

**BOOM!**

A massive crashing noise behind them made the group flinch, then spin to face bared white fangs, pitch-black scales, and empty, killing eyes.

Acnologia.

The Dragon King was snarling down at them, making the group freeze in terror, but Zeref walked right through the center of the mages and approached it. The small demon snickered at them as it joined its master and fellow servant. Acnologia bowed its head, to which the Death Mage leaped up and landed on its back.

Zeref glanced back at the Fairy Tail mages, then murmured, "Let's move."

Acnologia took off with a roar, unleashing a flurry of snow. The group stared after the black dragon, but it vanished from sight within seconds into the gray clouds.

A deep growl behind them made the Fairy Tail mages turn back. Deliora towered over them in the center of the cave, huge teeth bared while its tail slowly flicked from side to side.

Elfman gulped, "A-are we really doing this?"

Natsu glared up at the demon with anger in his eyes, "We'll crush it."

Laxus nodded, "We can't let this thing get out of here. If it makes it to New Brago…It'll level the place just like it did seventeen years ago."

"Then we'll just have to make sure it doesn't." Mira said painfully, wincing from her injuries.

"Mira, stop." Lisanna pleaded, "You're hurt! You're in no condition to fight something like this!"

"Laxus, Natsu, and Elfman can't beat it on their own…" Mira winced, "Even if you and I join in, the odds would only be a little better. But we'll have to take what we can get."

Happy gulped, "Wh-what should I do? I don't think it wants fish…"

Laxus glanced at Happy, "I want you to fly to New Brago and warn the mayor, just in case this goes south on us. Get the citizens the hell out of here, and send a message back to the guild. We'll need backup if we lose."

That made the group fall silent for a moment. Even Laxus wasn't sure they could beat an ancient demon like Deliora, especially now that it was energized with power from its master.

Happy nodded, "O-okay! Be careful, you guys!"

As the blue exceed darted away at Max Speed, Deliora roared a challenge and started charging energy in its huge mouth.

"Breath!" Natsu shouted, sucking in a reply.

"Right!" Laxus mirrored him, inhaling quickly to counter.

Mira went back into her Satan Soul: Halphas, Elfman utilized his Beast King Soul, and Lisanna flashed into her Tigress Take Over.

Deliora fired a laser-like beam of green energy, but Natsu and Laxus met it with simultaneous breath attacks.

"Fire Dragon's…"

"Lightning Dragon's…"

**"ROAR!"**

The three attacks collided, but Deliora's attack pushed back the Dragon Slayer's until it eventually exploded in midair.

Mira shot through the cloud of smoke and delivered a powerful kick to Deliora's jaw, making it snarl in anger. The beast was surprisingly fast, and almost grabbed Mira out of the air with its huge hands, but she flew around behind it and dodged.

Elfman roared and leaped up, landing a strong punch to the demon's stomach, but Deliora didn't even flinch and backhanded the Take Over mage away. Elfman crashed to the ground and got up again with a groan.

Natsu and Laxus lunged for the demon with Lisanna right behind them. She shouted ahead, "Cover me so I can get to its eyes!"

"Okay!" Laxus bolted to the side and threw a spearhead of lightning to get Deliora's attention, "Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"

The blast caught Deliora in the neck, making the demon bellow angrily and turn to the Lightning Dragon. Another energy beam started charging in its jaws, but now Natsu took the offensive.

"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" he roared, slamming into Deliora's knee to catch it off-balance.

As Deliora staggered, Elfman grabbed its other leg and heaved with all his strength, "MAN!"

The demon lost its footing and fell back, landing with a thunderous crash. It roared furiously as Lisanna jumped on and ran up its body to its face.

"Tigress Slash!" she shouted, slashing fiercely at Deliora's eyes.

Deliora however, roared at the top of its lungs, the force of which lifted Lisanna up off of its body and sent her flying away. The demon got back up with a grunt, snarling again when Laxus hit it with another lightning bolt.

Mira caught her sister midair, lowering her safely to the ground. Lisanna gritted her sharpened teeth, "Sorry. I missed."

"It's not your fault." Mira said, "This thing really is powerful…" Her voice trailed off as she watched Laxus, Natsu, and Elfman engage the mighty demon once more, but barely managed to inflict any real damage.

Lisanna blinked, "Mira?"

"I've got an idea." she said, determination entering Mirajane's eyes.

The girls ran up to the fight, Mira calling as they got closer, "Laxus, Natsu!"

The Dragon Slayers glanced back at her, "What?"

"Can you stun it with your magic for a few moments? I'm going to try a Take Over on it!" Mira shouted.

Elfman blanched, "Wha- Mira, no way! It's way too strong for that!"

"I have to try." Mira said with certainty, "We can't beat it alone. If I can immobilize it for long enough, maybe we can take it down."

"That's a hell of a risk…" Natsu muttered, all-too familiar with what happened when a Take Over went wrong.

Deliora started charging another energy beam in its mouth, aiming straight at the Fairy Tail mages.

Mira waved her hand, "Now! We have to do this!"

Laxus flashed her a glare, but it wasn't filled with anger. He growled, "You'd better not die on me."

Natsu lunged and jumped straight up, his body crackling with flame and lightning as he flew towards Deliora's open jaws. His hands came together and generated a sphere of the two elements, which he hurled at the demon's face, "Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

The mass of energy exploded violently, making Deliora stagger and lose focus, forcing its energy charge to dissipate.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"

Laxus followed up, flying in his lightning body to poise over Deliora's head before he rammed his fist into the monster's jaw with a bellow, "Roaring Thunder!"

The lightning-enhanced strike made Deliora topple over, crushing its head into the mountainside. The demon roared in pain and slid to the ground, but it growled furiously, showing that it was only stunned for a short while.

Mira flew over and quickly pressed her hands to the demon's chest with a shout, "Take Over!"

Her body glowed, then melded with Deliora's, who also started flashing gold. The demon snarled and writhed for a few seconds, then went still.

The cave grew eerily quiet.

Natsu stared at the unmoving demon, "Did she get him?"

"Mira?" Lisanna called uncertainly, "Sis?"

Laxus slowly approached Deliora, eyes wary, "Oi, Mira? You in there?"

**/**

_Mira looked around uncertainly, knowing she had performed the Take Over right, but unfamiliar with the pitch-black surroundings. _

_Where was Deliora?_

_Usually, she would engage a demon in mental combat, something she excelled at, but without Deliora present, she could do nothing. _

_As Mira turned around, looking for some sign of the demon, a figure stepped out of the darkness. Her eyes widened._

_Zeref._

_The Death Mage gave her a look of cold contempt, then spoke with lethal softness, "I told you not to interfere. Now you will pay the price for your disobedience, mortal."_

_He vanished, but Mira felt a strange sensation and looked down, freezing when she saw the lapping darkness sucking at her feet. It was dragging her down, and the feeling took her breath away._

_The darkness. The darkness _**_WAS _**_Deliora. _

_Mira realized too late that the demon was by far out of her league, and could only scream as the empty dark overwhelmed her with cruel ease._

**/**

Deliora's hand twitched.

The beast suddenly lunged forward and delivered a powerful backhand to Laxus, sending the Lightning Dragon flying into to cave wall with a loud crash. Laxus slid to the ground, unconscious.

"Sis!" Elfman bellowed and ran towards Deliora, but the demon just spun and slammed its tail into him, crushing the Take Over mage with incredible force.

"ELFMAN!" Lisanna screamed.

Natsu's eyes widened, "Shit…!"

The demon stood to its full height and bellowed, then unleashed a massive energy beam at the cavern roof. The rock shattered and exploded upon contact, causing the mountainside to start caving in.

Boulders fell down around Natsu and Lisanna, blocking the only exit out of the cave as Deliora kept blasting the walls with green energy.

Natsu shoved Lisanna to the ground and covered her body with his, giving the terrified girl a reassuring grin that wasn't very convincing, "It'll be fine. Just hold on."

Deliora fired a last beam of energy which made the entire cavern collapse.

Then everything went black.

**/\/\/\/\/\**

Lisanna's eyes opened slowly, then she coughed out dust from the cave-in. She looked around, realizing that she was trapped under a large boulder which formed a smaller cavern. But the one thing that stuck out was the body half-buried under rubble.

"Natsu!"

She crawled over to him and searched frantically for signs of life. Natsu was face-down and unmoving, but he was still breathing. Lisanna cleared the rubble pinning his legs and pulled him away to the side of the small cave, which she couldn't even stand up in. The girl brought Natsu's limp form close and held him tightly, just moments before she started crying.

Mira was gone. Laxus and Elfman were buried somewhere under rubble, possibly dead. Deliora was on the loose, and now Natsu was hurt.

_It's all gone wrong, _Lisanna thought miserably.


	7. Meeting

**Okay, new chapter! Sorry I haven't updated in a while; I sort of had a little trouble deciding how to do this part, but I'll get back into updating this more often! The next chapter will be out tomorrow, since I was planning to post it and this one as a single chapter, but it got so long, I decided to break it into two. **

**As always, please review and thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 7: Meeting_

"OHH! This makes me so MAD!"

That would be Levy.

The short girl was pouting after her who-knows-which attempt to decode the runes that had been eluding her for _three days. _Even with Lucy's help, it wasn't getting any easier. Sure, they'd managed to break down a lot more than the archaeologists had managed on their own, but the most crucial bits were still a mystery.

Moreover, Sting and Gajeel had basically cleared the ruins of monsters. They were getting bored.

Sting shook his head in amazement, as he and Gajeel were standing behind the frustrated girls, "Wow, I can't believe we picked a job with a language even you two can't recognize. That's…surprising."

"It doesn't make any sense." Lucy sighed, "Most of this stuff is easy enough, but then we get to these weird runes and…and nothing. Even our Gale Force Glasses can't decipher them."

Gajeel looked over Levy's shoulder, peering at the runes. He pointed at the one shaped like an upside-down wing, "What, is this what's bothering you?"

Levy puffed up her cheek and nodded, "It's gibberish…"

"Pff!" Gajeel almost laughed, then glanced to the burning talon right beside the upside-down wing. He shrugged, "Looks to me like someone got his ass handed to him by a fire mage."

Lucy frowned, "Why assume that?"

Gajeel pointed from the upside-down wing to the burning talon, "Look here, it's like this wing was a person who got beat. That's why it's upside-down. The claw thingy is the person who beat the other guy, and since it's on fire, maybe that guy used fire magic."

The room got quiet.

"…Okay, if you're going to call me an idiot, at least have the nerve to say it out loud!" Gajeel snapped.

Levy was staring at the runes. You could almost see the gears turning in her head.

Finally, she gasped and sat bolt upright, "That's it! It's not a code at all! It's a story!"

Gajeel blinked, "Huh?"

His surprise was multiplied exponentially when Levy jumped to her feet and kissed his cheek, then spun back around and started scribbling on a piece of paper without taking a breath, "If I change the context of the runes and fit them to the format of a story rather than a combination of multilingual races, then I can decipher the true meaning of the message!"

Gajeel blinked again, "Huh?"

Lucy was trying hard not to laugh. Gajeel was staring at Levy like she'd grown wings.

Sting snickered, "I think Gajeel broke."

That was it. Lucy started laughing hysterically.

Gajeel reddened and roared, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Levy, oblivious to the situation around her, wrote like a madwoman for several minutes, then held up the papers in triumph, "Got you!"

"Great work, Levy!" Lucy cheered.

"About time." Sting grunted, "Now let's take that to the ruins and open up that gate."

Levy got out of her chair and spun to face Gajeel again, who still looked stunned. She smiled brightly, "Gajeel, you're brilliant! Thanks so much!"

Lucy giggled mischievously, "So, you gonna kiss him again?"

The bluenette glanced at her friend questioningly, "What…!" Suddenly, her cheeks glowed crimson and Levy's mouth fell open, "Oh…umm."

"Did she just realize that she kissed him?" Sting muttered, trying not to show that he was about to _die _from laughter. _Oh, wait until I tell Natsu and Rogue…we'll give Gajeel so much shit…_

**/\/\/\/\/\**

"You're sure you can smell it, Savannah?" Millie asked.

The girl nodded, "Sure, I'm sure! I can definitely smell Dragon Slayer Magic just a short distance from here!"

Cross shrugged, "I'll take your word for it."

The three travelers had been heading to Magnolia through a small desert to avoid people, in case anyone tried to arrest Cross again. Halfway through, Savannah had picked up the scent of Dragon Slayers, or so she said. They hadn't seen anything for hours.

Millie frowned at a heat haze in the distance, "Savannah, are you really sure? It's the middle of the day and it's scorching hot…maybe you're just imagining things."

"I'm sure I can smell Dragon Slayers…" Savannah protested, but she was beginning to sound uncertain.

Cross's eyes narrowed, "Perhaps we should rest. It's too hot out here to travel."

"Where?" Savannah asked, "There's no shelter around here that I can see. We have to keep moving until we find the other Dragon Slayers."

Millie sighed, then stopped flying and stared at something in the sand. A strange mound that seemed less natural than the rest. She pointed, "What's that?"

Savannah shrugged, "I dunno. Who cares?"

Cross looked at the odd mound carefully. He didn't like something about it and muttered, "Let's take a different route. We need to find shelter of some kind."

The girl looked over her shoulder and pouted, "It's fine! Just have a little faith, would ya?!"

She took one step by the odd mound when the sand beneath her exploded.

Savannah shrieked as a giant scorpion burst from the desert with a shrill cry, grabbing her by the leg with a huge pincer. The monster easily rivaled something the size of an elephant, with a jet-black carapace.

Millie screeched, "Savannah!"

"Move!" Cross snapped, grabbing the exceed and jumping away as the scorpion launched a massive stinger at them and stabbed the ground. The barb was dripping venom that made the sand sizzle and dissolve.

Savannah tilted her head back and sucked in a deep breath, then shouted, "Grass Dragon's Roar!"

The scorpion hissed in pain as the breath hit the joint of its pincer arm, forcing it to release the girl. Savannah hit the sand with a gasp, clutching at a wound on her leg from the sharp pincers.

Cross set down Millie and rushed for Savannah, trying to get to her as the scorpion brought back its stinger for another shot. He got the girl in his arms quickly, then dove under the monster to avoid the next sting by mere inches.

The scorpion hissed again, frustrated that its prey had disappeared. Millie had wisely chosen to fly sky high, well above its attack range. Cross and Savannah were underneath it, where the monster couldn't reach.

Cross took one look at Savannah's leg wound and knew she wasn't about to run anywhere. The gash wasn't deep, but it looked like it had cracked the bone.

He tch'd. _Great. The only magic user in our group is already down._

Savannah swallowed and gave him a frightened, guilty look, "I'm sorry."

"Forget it. We'll just have to improvise." he muttered as the scorpion above them shifted and finally managed to move enough so it could see its prey again.

_"SHREE!" _the monster screeched and dove at them again. Cross picked up Savannah and dodged a lethal pincer strike, then a sting that moved quick as a snake.

Millie flew down briefly, picking up Savannah and lifting her so she was clear of the danger zone.

Savannah gasped, "Millie, lower me down! I have to attack that thing from above!"

"You can't!" the exceed said with fear, "That shell is too thick! You won't get anywhere against it!"

The giant scorpion glared at Cross with many, beady red eyes. It snapped its pincers and slammed its tail down.

_So I'm to be the prey of an insect. Joy, _Cross grimaced, "Come on, then."

_"SCREE!" _the scorpion shrieked and lunged at him.

**/**

The Fairy Tail mages were about to head into the ruins when they heard strange noises not far away. Weird shrieks that sounded like a monster, along with the cries of what could only be humans.

Sting glanced at Gajeel, "What is that?"

"Let's find out." Gajeel smirked, cracking his knuckles. He was always up for a good fight.

"No." Levy stopped him, "We need you to come with us into the ruins. Sting can deal with it on his own."

Black Steel didn't look happy about that, but he relented. Sting meanwhile, took off and ran up the sand dunes surrounding the ruins to find the source of the strange noises.

**/**

Cross avoided another sting from the giant scorpion, trying to formulate a plan while he dodged attack after attack. The monster was getting frustrated that it was unable to hit the man, and started slamming its pincers on the ground to demonstrate its anger.

_I've just about figured its movements, but I still don't know how I can beat it, _Cross thought worriedly.

"White Dragon's Roar!"

Cross froze as he heard the furious shout, then saw a beam of light racing towards him and the scorpion. _?! A Dragon Slayer?!_

The breath attack crashed into him, completely missing the huge scorpion. Cross brought his arms up to block and skidded back quite a distance before coming to a stop. He glanced up after the breath dissipated and stared at his attacker.

He was faced with a blonde, spiky-haired teenage boy with intense blue eyes and a scar across his right eyebrow. The Dragon Slayer looked furious, but it was more anger directed at Cross than the scorpion. This newcomer didn't look like he gave a flip about the monster, as a matter of fact.

The teenager growled, "What the _hell _are you doing here?!"

Cross stood up warily, noting the scorpion's confusion to make sure it didn't chance another strike. He called back cautiously, "Why did you attack me?"

"Don't avoid the question!" the Dragon Slayer snapped, "I don't know why you're here, Reyos, but if you wanna get out alive, then get lost!"

_Reyos. _The name sounded familiar to Cross, but he still couldn't…

He shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?"

The teenager looked furious, "If you keep messing with me, I'll kill you."

"I don't want trouble." Cross muttered, "Please, tell me who you are."

"Don't play like you don't know!" the teen roared, "I'm Sti-!"

The scorpion finally quit watching and made its move.

It lunged for Cross, snapping its pincers in an attempt to slice him in half. Cross jumped and dodged again, watching the Dragon Slayer suck in another breath to strike again. The teen jumped skyward.

"White Dragon's Holy Breath!" he roared, unleashing a massive blast of white light at Cross and the giant scorpion. The huge breath attack crushed the monster into the ground with a shrill screech, but Cross leaped back further and avoided it.

Cross came to a stop and faced the new Dragon Slayer cautiously, now aware that he was a lot stronger than he was. He took a stance in preparation to dodge any more attacks, "I don't know you. What's your name?"

"Sting Eucliffe." the Dragon Slayer growled back, "Now what the hell are you doing here Reyos?!"

"Reyos…" It was that name again. Cross's eye narrowed, "Is that my name?"

Sting seemed to regard him coldly, "Don't bullshit with me. You don't remember your own name? How about I beat you senseless and make that for real?"

"Wait!"

Millie lowered Savannah to the ground so the Grass Dragon Slayer could face Sting. She winced in pain as her bad leg touched the ground, but shouted anyway, "He really doesn't remember anything! Honestly! He barely survived his wounds!"

Sting glared at her, "Who are you?"

Savannah flinched back nervously, "S-Savannah…I'm a Grass Dragon Slayer…Y-you're the White Dragon Slayer…right?"

The White Dragon regarded her cautiously, "That's me…what do you mean, he doesn't remember?"

"Cross doesn't have any memories…not of himself, or anything else." she swallowed, "We offered to help him find out who he is, so we went looking for you and the other Dragon Slayers. You all fought dragons in Crocas, right? What happened to Cross back then?"

"Cross. Is that what you're calling yourself now?" Sting's anger went back to the older man, "Alright. You really want to know what happened on July 7th? It was the Dragon King Festival. _Reyos…_in other words, you, summoned seven dragons and tried to lay waste to the whole city. Natsu and I were the ones who beat the living shit out of you, but I guess you're tougher than I thought."

Millie bristled, "Wh-what?!"

Savannah stared at Cross with wide eyes, "H..huh? That's not…"

Cross took the information in slowly, trying to piece together what Sting had told him. The words and accusations seemed to shake him to the core, forcing up images in his head that didn't feel as if they belonged to him.

_A shadowy form with sharp teeth, a hissing voice, the one he recalled as Skyadrum…_

_The young boy with dark hair and piercing red eyes, who called him his shadow..._

_The Dragon King Festival...Seven dragons…_

_Reyos…_

_There was Sting and a rose-haired boy who looked very much like him, fighting against Cross on dragonback above the city. _

_A power that wasn't truly his at his hands as he fought the two Dragon Slayers, but finally, they struck as one and defeated him._

_A warning, a promise to survive, then darkness._

The short memories went through him, and Cross realized he really had lived through it.

Sting watched him with smoldering eyes, "Remember, now?"

"…" Cross said nothing, just stared at the ground.

_"SCREE!"_

The giant scorpion got up with a shriek of fury, then lunged for Cross, pincers snapping and stinger lunging forward to impale him.

"Cross!" Savannah gasped.

He held up a hand at the oncoming monster, feeling a strangely familiar power come over him. Suddenly, Cross's body flashed bright white on the left side, while the right became enveloped in shadows.

_"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk…!"_

Thin, but sharp beams of white light and shadow pierced the scorpion's hard carapace, slashing it to ribbons. The monster gurgled once in pain, then collapsed in death.

Savannah's jaw dropped. Millie bristled and gulped nervously.

Sting stared at Cross with a guarded look, and it seemed as though he were about to explode.

Cross met the White Dragon's gaze without flinching, "…No. I do not."

Sting's eyes widened, "What?!"

"It's true insofar that I can recall this power and the battle I waged during the Dragon King Festival, but…" Cross clenched his fist, "This power doesn't belong to me, nor do these memories. It does not feel as though it was I you fought that day. It's as though I watched it through a window, or…"

"You did mention that your future self and your present self fused…" Sting muttered, still unconvinced that Cross was being honest, "But Rogue told me you were always evil. And you proved that during the Dragon King Festival."

Savannah bit her lip, "But he…he helped me escape from the scorpion…He can't be all bad…"

Cross closed his eye, "Perhaps…but that isn't to say I'm necessarily on your side, either. I was created to be a power for someone else…does that mean I have no purpose? Am I just a shadow?"

"If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that you're a murderer." Sting hissed, "And I won't ever forgive you for that."

**_BOOM!_**

Everyone froze as an earthquake ripped through the ground, the result of some incredibly violent force.

Sting whipped around to stare at where the ruins were, "What happened?!"


	8. Grey Enigma

**Alright, now we're getting somewhere! This chapter has a lot of explanations about the powers of the Dragon Slayers, but I'll go into further detail on some or those things later. Not much else for me to say here, other than the usual:**

**Please REVIEW and thanks for reading!**

_Chapter 8: Grey Enigma_

What happened…was not pretty.

Levy and Lucy had used the translated script to open up the Maginium doors in the ruins easily enough, and had just walked into the treasure room when they found out about the guardian.

The guardian…which happened to be a djinn, or genie of sorts, was not happy to be awoken from its slumber.

Almost immediately after they took a step into the treasure room, there was a blinding flash of light, then a huge, smoky figure loomed in the middle of the chamber. The lower half was still smoky, and broiling red with anger. The upper half of the djinn's body was that of a man, but with claws on its hands and tusks like a boar. It wasn't pretty.

Gajeel had attempted to defeat it somehow, but the djinn's body was impossible to hit. Whenever he tried to attack it, the djinn would dissipate into smoke, but it could materialize briefly to hit Black Steel.

It was tricky to fight and not going well, especially when the djinn let out a bellow that generated the earthquake felt by Sting and the others not far off. At least it didn't leave the treasure room, and the archaeologist clients had the sense to stay out of it as well.

Gajeel hit the ground with a huff and glared up at the djinn, clenching his fists in frustration, "This bastard is so damn annoying! How the hell am I supposed to hit it if it keeps turning into smoke?!"

Lucy face-palmed, "You didn't even let us try talking to it."

Black Steel looked at her like she was crazy, "What good would that have done?!"

"We might have been able to convince it we were friendly, but you just had to go and try fighting it first." Levy sighed in exasperation, "Now it won't listen at all."

"Why do you say that like it's my fault?" Gajeel asked.

"IT IS YOUR FAULT!" the girls shouted at him.

The djinn lunged forward, giving Black Steel just enough time to raise his arms to block before the huge fist materialized and crashed into him. Gajeel skidded back towards the entrance and came to a stop there.

He gritted his teeth, "This ain't working so well…"

"Guys!"

Sting ran into the chamber with an exceed and a young girl behind him. He stopped at the sight of the djinn and muttered behind him, "You stay back. Leave this to us."

"Who're they?" Levy asked.

"Tell ya later." Sting replied, then bared his fangs at the djinn, "What is that thing?"

Gajeel growled, "A pain in the ass. I can't hit it."

The djinn rushed them again, punching both Gajeel and Sting away with its huge fists. The two Dragon Slayers came to a stop, then lunged back.

"Iron Dragon's Club!" Gajeel shouted, but his iron rod passed through the djinn harmlessly.

"White Dragon's Holy Fist!" Sting swung at the monster's face, but also just went right through it.

"You guys won't get anywhere by attacking like that!" Lucy called, "It's not physical! You can't just hit it!"

Gajeel snarled, "Then what do you suggest we do?! Ugh!" The last thing he said was due to the djinn ramming its huge head into him, flinging Black Steel up into the chamber wall.

"Bastard!" Sting leaped up and sucked in a deep breath, "White Dragon's Roar!"

The laser breath pierced the djinn's body, but it simply dissipated into smoke and flew up behind the White Dragon before materializing and punching him down to earth.

Sting got up on his knees and glared at it over his shoulder, "Pain in the ass!"

The djinn came down for another swing, but a strange sound stopped it.

A soft, gentle humming filled the air, making everything in the chamber become soothed and at ease. The sound was pure and clear, with only peace in its tone.

The source of the soft song was Savannah, as she hummed lightly and calmed everyone down. Once even the djinn had stopped its rampage to stare at her, she finally ended the song and looked up at it, "Umm…stop fighting, please?"

The djinn observed her quietly, then floated back to the center of the room and crossed its arms, facing its disturbers. It suddenly spoke, **"Why are you here?"**

Lucy mouthed a silent _thank you, _to Savannah, then spoke to the djinn, "Sorry, we just wanted to come in here and find out what was inside. We didn't mean to offend you-"

**"I do not speak to humans."** the djinn interrupted, **"I speak only to Dragon Slayers like my old master."**

Sting blinked, "Dragon Slayer? Your master was?"

**"Indeed. Though it has been many centuries since he was laid to rest." **the djinn rumbled, its huge hand briefly gesturing to a sarcophagus of sorts behind it, **"But I shall continue to guard his resting place. Let me see now…so, there are three…no, four Dragon Slayers here…but where is the fourth?"**

"Four?" Gajeel grunted, "Sting and I are the only-"

"Actually, she's a Dragon Slayer, too." Sting interrupted and gestured to Savannah, who waved nervously.

Black Steel shook his head, "Great, so that's three. But four? Who's the fourth?"

The White Dragon sighed, "I guess he must be talking about, 'Cross'. Where is that guy, anyway?"

**"Where he is does not matter, for I can sense him anyways." **the djinn's eyes glared down at them, **"I have heard your purpose for being here, and I do not approve of anyone, even other Dragon Slayers, disturbing my master's rest, or his treasure. You must disappear now, for no one may leave this place once they enter. It is a place of my master's eternal rest; now it will be yours."**

Levy gulped, "Ah…you aren't really gonna try and kill us…right?"

The djinn waved its hand and the doors suddenly closed behind them, locking the group in and keeping the archaeologists out.

"I think he's serious." Lucy muttered with wide, scared eyes.

**"You will be punished for breaking into my master's chamber." **the djinn threatened, raising its fists up in preparation to attack.

"If you're gonna kill us, at least tell us what the treasure is." Sting grunted, though he was clearly just trying to trick the monster into telling them.

Either the djinn was stupid, or it just didn't care, because surprisingly, it told them, **"A Dragon Slayer's greatest fear is to be consumed by his magic and transform into a dragon. But there are certain…Magical Tools of sorts the dragons created to prevent this." **

**"One of them, the Eclipse Scale, is here, in this room. It allowed my master to control his draconic side and retain his sanity during battle. That tool made him into a formidable foe, which is why I will guard him forever."**

Savannah tilted her head in confusion, "Retain his sanity…?"

"Hold on, old timer." Sting interrupted, "You said he could control himself…meaning he could turn into a dragon and turn back at will?"

**"In a sense. Once a Dragon Slayer fully transforms, there's no going back." **the djinn corrected as it cracked its knuckles, **"My master was able to divide his body: half man, half dragon."**

Gajeel's eyes narrowed, "That sounds an awful lot like the Salamander during the Grand Magic Games…so your master could actually control that monstrosity?"

**"The hybrid form is merely a sign that the Dragon Slayer's magic has outgrown his body. It can be activated, however, by other means. If one's instincts or emotions exceed what the Dragon Slayer can handle, their magic builds until it bursts free into the hybrid form." **

**"Normally, once a Dragon Slayer discovered this power, the dragons would give them a Magic Stop to keep the hybrid form from activating again. It was…exceedingly difficult to control. Many died attempting to master that power. The few who did however, were the greatest of their race." **the djinn continued speaking as if it weren't about to kill them.

Somehow, after so many years of loneliness, perhaps it just wanted to talk for a little longer.

"So, if we want to stop ourselves from turning into dragons, all we have to do is find one of these things?" Sting asked, "And if we do find one, we can use it to get stronger?"

The djinn rumbled with amusement, **"It isn't so simple. A Magic Tool created by the dragons is more difficult to obtain than the rarest of gems. And it cannot just be any tool. The dragons created these tools so each would fit just one type of Dragon Slayer. The tool I have here cannot be used by an Iron or White Dragon Slayer, like yourselves."**

Gajeel tch'd, "Then it's useless to us."

"Okay, then what kind of Dragon Slayer does it work on?" Sting queried, ignoring him.

**"A Dragon Slayer which has perfected a Fusion Mode like my master." **the djinn answered.

Lucy blinked, "Fusion? Like Gajeel's Iron Shadow Mode and Sting's Whitefire Mode?"

**"I am unfamiliar with those Modes, but if they are the combination of two Dragon Slayer elements, then that is correct." **the djinn admitted,** "However, there are two different types of these Modes. The Fusion Mode, that my master perfected, and the Dual Element Mode. The Fusion Mode is the perfect synchronization of two elements, whereas a Dual Element is merely an enhancement of one element with another."**

Levy tapped her chin, "So, Gajeel's Iron Shadow Mode is a Dual Element type since it's just an enhanced version of his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic with Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic. And Natsu's Lightning Flame Mode is the same way."

"Then Sting's is a Fusion Element type, since the light and flames combine into one." Lucy realized, "What about Rogue's Poison Shadow Mode?"

"Who knows." Gajeel muttered.

**"My master was the only Dragon Slayer in his time to master perfect synchronization of light and darkness and give them a new state." **the djinn said proudly, **"Only the most elite of Dragon Slayers could match him. He was one of the few who lived out his life to the end and passed away naturally."**

Black Steel bared his fangs slightly, "Why does that remind me of Reyos? Didn't he have a White Shadow Mode, or something?"

**"As enjoyable as it has been to speak with others after so long a slumber, any longer would insult my master's good memory." **the djinn entered his more aggressive state and swelled up with smoke to attack, **"Die well, Dragon Slayers."**

"Not yet."

The djinn froze and spun around, eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Cross emerging from the shadows to touch the sarcophagus gently.

Gajeel bristled, "What the fu- Reyos?!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sting snarled, "Get away from that! It doesn't belong to you!"

"Is this thing you told them about in here?" Cross asked, ignoring the other Dragon Slayers, "The magical tool that gave your master his full powers?"

**"Do not touch my master's final resting place!" **the djinn roared and lunged at him.

Cross's hand turned into shadow and reached within the sarcophagus. He murmured lowly, "I can almost touch it…Just a little more…I am close…"

**"Thief!" **the djinn brought back a huge fist and swung, but Cross suddenly flashed into his White Shadow Dragon Mode.

"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk." he spoke without even glancing at the huge djinn, instead focusing only on the sarcophagus.

The light and shadow beams slashed at the djinn's materialized fist, cutting it open and spurting silver blood all over. The djinn grunted in pain and astonishment, briefly pausing in its shock.

Sting and Gajeel rushed forward, intending to strike down both the djinn and Cross at once.

"Here." Cross whispered as he felt his shadowy fingers touch something in the sarcophagus, "This is it…"

He pulled out a chain necklace of sorts, with one side made of pitch-black obsidian, and the other pure white ivory. Attached to the necklace was a similarly colored material in the shape of an eye, but it appeared to be a scale of sorts. The scale of a dragon.

Cross held it up and observed the necklace, staring at it curiously, "Fascinating…It has power…"

"It isn't yours! Don't touch it!" Sting roared and brought a fist back to punch him.

"You are beginning to irritate me." Cross muttered, catching the punch before blasting Sting away with a burst of shadows and light. The White Dragon slammed into Gajeel and also sent him flying backwards.

The djinn, now wounded, observed Cross with caution, **"Your power is reminiscent of my master's…but I will not allow you to take his treasure. Do tell me, however, what were you intending to do with it?"**

Cross faced the djinn with the necklace in hand, his one eye filled with calm, "I am a being who was created only to be a power for someone else. I will not simply act as a tool to be used. My life must have more purpose to it than that."

"However…it would appear whatever I did in the past is not my destiny, or I would not have lost my memories in a lost battle. If anything, I am taking this necklace to assist me in finding my true purpose."

**"Interesting…you were formed of neither man, nor dragon, but shadow…how curious." **the djinn remarked, **"Your existence is unique in itself, thought whether it is good or evil…is a mystery, even to me. You are an outcast…an enigma…"**

"He's a pain in the ass, whatever he is." Sting grunted as he got up, glaring at Cross.

Cross glanced at him, "I am my own being…an artificial life created on the whim of a creature far greater than I. But despite that, I have power, and it is my choice to determine how I will use it. For example, I could use it to slay you…"

Sting and Gajeel bristled angrily, putting themselves in front of Lucy and Levy in case Cross attacked.

"Or," he continued, "I could use it to guard those who tried to protect me." His one eye turned to Savannah and Millie, who were watching the whole situation unfold silently.

Cross's eye closed, "Or perhaps it would be better if no one knew of my existence at all. I will have to decide, but in my own time."

**"Your time is going to end here." **the djinn said threateningly, **"None of you will leave this room alive."**

The monster lunged at Cross again, but his eye flashed dangerously, "I may be an outcast, but I decide my own destiny. You don't have the power to take that choice from me."

As if in response to his words of defiance, the Eclipse Scale glowed.

When Cross's hand came up and started swirling shadows and light in preparation to repel the djinn, the two elements suddenly fused completely and changed color to grey. The djinn kept coming and hit the grey matter head on, but then it was suddenly sucked into the swirling energy. With a bellow of shock, the djinn was completely absorbed into the grey matter and vanished.

Cross's eye widened in surprise and he stopped the output of magic, bringing his hand up to stare at it. _What was that?_

"What did you just do?!" Sting demanded.

"The djinn just…it's gone…!" Savannah gasped.

Cross lost himself in thought for a short time. _I have no memory of THIS magic…is it the Eclipse Scale's power? How curious…_

He put the necklace into his pocket and faced the others by the gate. Cross spoke clearly, "I must go. Spending any more time here would simply cause trouble I don't want."

Savannah took a limping step forward, "Then Millie and I are coming with y-"

"No." Cross interrupted her, "You can't. For one, you're injured, and I don't intend to stop moving anytime soon. And I don't think that you're weak." His voice was gruff, though not unkind, "But after learning what I have about my past, I don't think it would be a wise decision for you to keep traveling with me, Savannah. And I'll be going by my old name, 'Reyos' again...It would be best if you forgot about me and stayed with these people instead."

"But…!" Savannah burst out in protest.

"You say that like we're going to let you walk out-!" Gajeel's threat was cut short as Reyos melted into shadows and vanished. Black Steel swore, "Damn!"

Savannah stared at where Reyos had been just moments earlier, but suddenly felt a chill up her spine as his voice emanated in her head. _Thank you for helping me, Savannah. This is goodbye, but I will not forget you…_

The eerie feeling disappeared, along with Reyos's voice.

Suddenly, the locked gates behind them clicked and creaked open again, allowing the archaeologists waiting outside to tentatively come in.

"Well?" the leader asked, "Did you defeat the djinn?"

Sting shook his head, "It's…complicated. But it looks like it's safe now, so I guess our job is finished…"

"Good." the man said, relieved, "There's a messenger from your guild waiting in the camp. He says it's urgent."

**/\/\/\/\/\**

Reyos only emerged from the shadows once he was clear of the desert and deep in a mist-filled forest. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Eclipse Scale. After several moments of silence, Reyos dipped his head to put the necklace on. It seemed to glow in response to the touch of his body, but the light was brief.

_I will find the purpose for my power and existence with this, _he decided. _No matter how long it may take me…no matter what path I must tread…I will find out why I exist here…_

"I should move." Reyos murmured, then started walking through the forest in silence.


End file.
